How We Break and Rebuild
by Alecto Perdita
Summary: In a world without Duel Monsters, Kaiba Seto struggles to prove his worth as the newly appointed Meijin Kawaguchi, the strongest of all Gunpla fighters. Fortunately, he has the help of a single-mindedly devoted builder named Jounouchi Katsuya. [24/24 chapters posted, crossover fusion with Gundam Build Fighters]
1. The Master and the Builder

Dedicated to darkmus. Rated M for eventual smut.

Cover image is fanart done by hanase on tumblr, commissioned by darkmus on tumblr, and used here with permission.

If you are familiar with GBF, this story takes place in a modified timeline where Yuuki Tatsuya debuted as Meijin Kawaguchi the Third in the 7th World Tournament like in the series, but the rest of the events in the anime (Sei and Reiji namely) have not taken place.

* * *

_1: The Master and the Builder_

"I don't need a builder."

The newly appointed Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth scowled at the engineer being presented to him. If he had to guess, he'd say the engineer was close to his age, nineteen or twenty. The top two buttons of the man's PPSE uniform were undone, and his blond hair was a riotous mess. The so-called builder looked as if he had rolled straight out the company dorm's bed.

"Give him a chance, Kaiba-kun," Mutou Yuugi nettled and clapped his hands together. "You can't do everything yourself."

Kaiba Seto glared harder at the PPSE administrator and snapped, "Your career is never going to go anywhere as long as you keep taking these pathetic strays under your wing,"

Yuugi's job duties were a little bit of everything— ranging from paperwork and rights management to what could only be described as "herding cats" when it came to managing the team that higher-ups at the company had unloaded on Kaiba. In the last month since Kaiba started at the company, Yuugi had introduced him to no less than a dozen builders to fill the empty slots and transfers on the Works Team. He may be the closest thing that Kaiba had to a friend, but Yuugi was beginning to get on his nerves.

Meanwhile, the blond yawned and didn't even try to cover it up. Kaiba turned his glower back on the engineer, but he didn't flinch. The standards at Gunpla Academy must have taken a nosedive since Kaiba graduated.

The blond slung a lazy arm around Yuugi's shoulder. "If his majesty doesn't want to make use of my skills, it's his loss. Doesn't matter if he wins or loses the world championship, I get paid either way," he drawled. His tone and diction were rough— a lower middle-class upbringing and meager education at best.

Kaiba laughed. "Are you suggesting that I need _your_ help," he sneered for emphasis. "To win?"

The other man shrugged. His nonchalant attitude was beginning to really piss Kaiba off. "Just calling it like I see it."

"Clearly, you're blind then," Kaiba balked. He turned with a swish of his long black trenchcoat and walked away.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba gritted his teeth and yanked the right control orb. He could feel his Gunpla jerk to the left before righting itself. Next, he thought to himself, deploy the double beam sabers from weapon slot two, close the gap, and cleave the remaining Zakus into halves.

"Simulation battle ended."

The hologram of the cockpit faded away and the field dropped, allowing the Plavsky particles to dissipate naturally.

"You either need a Gunpla in a higher weight class or you need to stop driving yours like a tank," someone declared from the other side of the room.

Kaiba jerked back in surprise. It was nearly midnight— the last of the team left hours ago. He enjoyed having the testing room all to himself. The constant hum of background conversations drove him to distraction. He didn't appreciate someone— anyone intruding on his private training sessions. His hackles rose when he saw just who it was.

"You shouldn't be here," he sneered at the PPSE builder that Yuugi had introduced days earlier.

"This says otherwise," the other man said while waving his company ID badge.

Kaiba noted the name, "Jounouchi," and filed it away for future reference. If Yuugi liked dealing with paperwork so much, he'd file an official complaint tomorrow. "So you were spying on me then."

Jounouchi huffed in frustration and blew a stray bang out of his eyes. "Dude, I'm on your side. I just wanted to see you, y'know, in action."

"And your feedback's unwarranted."

Jounouchi capitulated, throwing both hands in the air as he spoke, "Okay, fine, it was just friendly advice. Cuz your modified Phenex weighs half as much as the Double-Oh Quanta that you used to pilot. I know you want to make an impression at your first world championship, but there's no point in forcing yourself." He then quickly backed out of the room.

Kaiba picked his Phenex off the table and turned it over in his hand twice. Jounouchi wasn't wrong, but it wasn't an insight that Kaiba would have expected from the man. The builder acted all blase, but he had known what Gunpla Kaiba previously favored— suggesting some research on his part. Like a hammer on a nail, he struck at the heart of the issue that Kaiba had been wrestling with. It showed far more promise than any of the other builders previously touted before him.

Maybe he had been too quick to rush to judgment.

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi wasn't in the workshop with the other builders. His assigned work surface was pristine except for the wads of crumpled paper swept into the corner of the desk. There were no stray crumbs or any other telltale sign of lived-in-ness that the other work tables boasted. It appeared that he hadn't been here for quite some time.

After another hour of searching, Kaiba finally found him in the cafeteria. Jounouchi was seated at a table by the window with a sketchpad in front of him and the end of a pencil clamped between his teeth as he stared out the window.

Kaiba scowled as he dropped into the seat opposite of the man.

"How can I help you today, Meijin-san?" Jounouchi pulled the pencil away from his mouth and flashed a toothy grin.

Might as well get straight to the point then. Kaiba slid his package across the table, which stopped when it hit the edge of Jounouchi's sketchbook. "I want to see the finished product tomorrow."

Jounouchi lifted the model kit and studied the picture on top, before opening it to rifle through the contents inside. "Interesting choice, the Ghirarga— but it's not the most popular model. And tomorrow? That's not much of an advanced notice. You also dumped a load of custom parts not in the specs on here."

"The point of this exercise is to see how you work under pressure."

Jounouchi pulled out the parts piece by piece, sorting them into separate piles as he went. When he reached the bottom of the box, he looked up with an eyebrow quirked. "What? No instructions?"

Kaiba sat back and smirked. He had no use for a builder without imagination.

"Fine by me, I like to make it up as I go along," Jounouchi shrugged, sounding a bit too cavalier. "And the paint job?"

"Impress me."

* * *

As with many of my fics, this ficlet got expanded into a full-length fic. This is the archive version of "Meijin Kaibaguchi" that was previously posted on my tumblr. It has been cleaned up (and there are some expansions of certain scenes) and is being posted here and on for readability.


	2. Call Sign

_2: Call Sign_

When Kaiba opened his locker in the morning, he came face to face with a posed 1/144 HG Ghirarga model decked out in black and trimmed with ruby red. Without tearing his gaze away, he dropped his duffel bag before picking up the Gunpla. He turned it over twice. When he pulled one hand away, he was pleased not to spot any smudges on his fingers or on the Gunpla itself. The paint was lacquer— but while the detailing was limited to the trimming, the even and meticulous application of the base coat told Kaiba all he needed to know about the painter's skill.

The locker room door hissed as it slid open and close. With a soft unf, Jounouchi sagged against the row of lockers, cradling a half-full liter bottle of soda in one arm. His uniform jacket was unzipped, revealing a ragged t-shirt underneath with some band's logo. Though bright-eyed, he'd obviously pulled an all-nighter fueled by sugar and caffeine.

"I would have finished it off with topcoat, pearl I think, and another buffing," he brought his free hand up to stifle a yawn. "But you weren't exactly generous with a 24-hour deadline."

The deadline wasn't meant to be fair. Twenty-four hours wasn't enough time for any paint out on the market to begin curing. If Jounouchi had gone ahead and applied a top coat, he would have been left with one hot mess in his hands. It wouldn't have been the first time a builder rushed and cut corners to deliver a compromised product in a misguided attempt to impress Kaiba. For instance, Otogi Ryuuji, another builder currently on the PPSE Works Team, was all flash and little substance. The third Meijin Kawaguchi liked to proclaim that Gunplas were freedom, but Kaiba was of the opinion that you needed to understand your limitations as well.

When he said nothing in return, Jounouchi teased, "You thought I'd completely fail."

Kaiba replied with noncommittal grunt as he passed the Gunpla to Jounouchi. The builder had passed his first test, which not many did. Jounouchi accepted the Ghirarga with an easy smile, bright and unguarded like Yuugi's. When Kaiba stripped off his turtleneck, Jounouchi's gaze momentarily drifted south down the sculpted planes of his torso and lingered on his waist. Kaiba felt a spark of amusement as Jounouchi visibly caught himself and redirected his attention to the Ghirarga.

Fidgeting with the Gunpla, Jounouchi continued, "I included all the Ghirarga's standard armaments— the Beam Buster, beam vulcans and sabers, bits..."

As Kaiba did up his button-down shirt and then his cravat, he half-listened to Jounouchi's rambling. Listing the specs would only get you so far. The best way to learn a Gunpla's true potential was through battle. After pulling on his trenchcoat, he took a moment in the mirror to tidy his hair and comfortably settle himself into the Meijin persona— invincible and unyielding.

Meanwhile, Jounouchi had fallen quiet. Kaiba turned to him and examined him from head to toe. He remained confident about his first impression, but Jounouchi had also demonstrated adaptability and competency.

"It is acceptable," Kaiba said finally.

Jounouchi beamed— as if he knew that was the closest Kaiba had come to complimenting any PPSE employee. "Wanna take it for a test drive?" he asked eagerly.

Kaiba's mind was made up. "Yes, you'll battle my Double-Oh Quanta with it."

-x-x-x-

"Please set your GP base."

Both he and Jounouchi set their devices into their slots when prompted. The PPSE logo flashed across the screen, before loading the data for his 00 Qan[T]. After months, it was still strange to find "Meijin Kawaguchi the 4th" where it once read "Kaiba Seto."

"Beginning Plavsky particle dispersal," droned the battle system. The lights automatically dimmed as the machine fired up, releasing a shower of ethereal blue sparks into the containment field. None of this— Gunpla battles and Kaiba's current position— would be possible without the Plavsky particles. The discovery of the particles thirteen years ago had ushered in a second explosion in the popularity for Gundam plastic models. With the discovery came the ability to animate the models themselves and engage in stunningly realistic mock-battles.

Within Gunpla battles, the fighter and the builder were often one and the same. But occasionally, exceptional fighters partnered with singular builders, who built and maintained their machines for them. Such was the case with the previous Meijin Kawaguchi and Allan Adams, the former chief engineer of the PPSE's own sponsored team. Kaiba doubted Jounouchi would be able to match Adams in skills.

Maybe it was a trick of the light, but the look on Jounouchi's face reminded Kaiba of how he had stood in awe of seeing the particles up close for the first time— which seemed absurd, because as a PPSE employee, Jounouchi must have seen them a thousand times before.

Kaiba held his opponent's gaze at the other end of the machine. "Survive the next five minutes, and I'll acknowledge you as my builder."

Jounouchi's surprise was cut off by the walls of the holographic cockpits that sprung up between them.

"Model damage level set to A. Five minute time limit. Field 1: Space. Please set your Gunpla."

Neither of them made any grand announcements as their Gunplas launched onto the field. Their battlefield was littered with space debris, with the leftover remnants of an asteroid mining operation standing 300 kilometers to his left.

The Ghirarga immediately registered on Kaiba's radar, flying straight for his 00 Qan[T]. Kaiba laughed. He reckoned it was a mix of bravado and stupidity that drove Jounouchi to approach him head on. Maybe this would take less time than he first thought. Kaiba hefted his GN sword and fired up his thrusters to intercept.

In seconds, the Ghirarga came into view of his main camera. They were closing the distance between each other fast. The Ghirarga's stats popped up on Kaiba's HUD— all of which reported values greater than what Kaiba originally estimated. If given more than 24 hours, Jounouchi's output would likely be on par to Kaiba's. His assessment of the builder rose by another notch.

Jounouchi's inexperience as a fighter showed. More finely-tuned control skills were needed before he could adequately pilot a Gunpla of that caliber. The builder overshot Kaiba's position, exposing his flank to attack. The Ghirarga practically skidded to a stop before turning around in a series of jerky movements. It was like watching someone make an eight-point turn in an oversized SUV.

Kaiba smirked as he opened his video commline. "Must be sad not to be able to handle a machine you built yourself."

"That's cuz I built it for you, you jerk!"

Kaiba leveled his GN sword at the Ghirarga's torso and charged. The Ghirarga clumsily sidestepped at the last possible second. Kaiba's sword edge caught on the seam of an armor plate on the left shoulder, and with a flick, he sliced it clean off.

Jounouchi cursed loudly over the video comm. The Ghirarga lurched back, placing some much needed distance between itself and the 00 Qan[T]. It raised both arms and unleashed a volley of vulcan fire. Using his GN shield to block the beam attacks, Kaiba pressed forward to continue his attack. The next thrust of his sword met resistance against a particle field stretched thin across the Ghirarga's forearm and skidded off in a spray of sparks.

"That's not the standard electromagnetic shield," Kaiba quipped with a raised eyebrow.

Jounouchi began to visibly sweat from effort. "What use is a shield that only blocks beam weaponry?"

The Ghirarga drew both beam sabers and slashed at the 00 Qan[T], which raised its left arm to parry with its shield binder. The shield buckled a fraction as a warning popped up on Kaiba's HUD— the Plavsky particles coating the metal were thinning. He compensated by boosting the GN drive and increasing his particle emission rate. Kaiba and Jounouchi continued to trade strikes and parry for a bit. What Jounouchi lacked in fine control, he made up for with quick reaction times and surprisingly good instincts. Paired with the Ghirarga's sturdy construction, it turned a number of what would have been direct hits into glancing blows.

But he was also reckless. A more tactical-minded fighter would have maintained distance and used the Ghirarga's mobility and its array of long-ranged attacks to his advantage.

Their weapons glanced off each other again, but Kaiba saw an opening. He cleaved off the Ghirarga's tail with a backhand slice before it could be used against him. Twisting the blade tip back around, he landed a direct blow across the back of the left knee joint. The joint held, but Kaiba could see the [Body Frame Caution] flashing in the background behind Jounouchi through the open video comm.

"Shit!"

"Is that all you got, Jounouchi?" Kaiba laughed, loud and unfettered.

The Ghirarga turned and fled. It was fast, but still no match for Kaiba's 00 Qan[T]. They streaked across the battlefield, leaving tails of Plavsky particles in their wake like two dancing comets. Jounouchi continued to surprise him. Kaiba had thought he'd be able to put the other Gunpla down in under two minutes, but Jounouchi refused to take anything lying down and they were drawing close to the four-minute mark. Switching over to the Bit Control System, he released all six sword bits from his shield and sent them hurtling after the Ghirarga.

Kaiba was done playing around.

The Ghirarga's silhouette suddenly morphed, sprouting new sharp angles around from its back, arms, and knees. The steady green glow of the newly exposed appendages cast shadows over the Gunpla that made it look even more dragon-like than before. Jounouchi had activated the machine's X-Transmitter. The space around the Ghirarga hummed as over a dozen glowing orbs materialized. The Ghirarga's bits rocketed forward to the Gunpla's defense, and while they weren't strong enough to destroy the 00 Qan[T]'s bits, they packed enough of a punch to knock each one out of its designated flight path.

The Ghirarga pivoted mid-flight, the piece in its chest glowing green as the Beam Buster charged. What Kaiba hadn't expected was the two additional diffuse beam cannons revealed by the the Gunpla's upturned palms. Getting hit by all three would do more than scratch the 00 Qan[T]'s paint job.

"Take that!" Jounouchi screamed as he unleashed all three attacks.

Kaiba couldn't believe Jounouchi had driven him to this point. "Trans-Am!"

The 00 Qan[T] dodged out of the path of the incoming energy beam, but it was closer than Kaiba would like to admit. The combined beam fire collided with the asteroid mine behind them, blowing it apart. A wave of turbulence from the explosion rocked the 00 Qan[T] until Kaiba re-stabilized its flight. Recalling the sword bits, they slotted onto the GN sword, configuring the weapon into its buster rifle setting. He took aim at head of the charging Ghirarga— energy and particles gathered at the tip of his weapon.

Kaiba only needed to land this one shot. He squeezed the trigger.

Both Gunplas went suddenly limp.

"Over the time limit. Battle ended."

As the containment field collapsed, the Gunplas plummeted from mid-air and hit the surface of the simulator with hollow thuds. For a moment that seemed to drag, Kaiba and Jounouchi stared at their prone models.

"Fuck yeah!" Jounouchi declared as he pumped both fists into the air. "Oh my god. I can't believe that just happened. Wait till I tell Yuugi!"

"You're lucky you can build, because you aren't worth damn as a fighter." Kaiba sneered.

Jounouchi stopped in the middle of his celebratory dance and darted over to Kaiba's side of the console. His previous good humor was nowhere to be found, replaced by a somber expression that seemed out of place on Jounouchi's good-natured face. Determination set his amber eyes ablaze. "Five minutes, you said it yourself. You're not going to go back on your word, are you, Meijin?"

"No," he said. What he wouldn't say was that Jounouchi had near-impressed him. "Welcome to the Works Team."

The serious look on Jounouchi's face cracked into a broad smile. "So what's your name?"

"You know my name," Kaiba snapped irritably. That was a record— less than a minute and he was already beginning to regret his decision.

Jounouchi leaned forward to peek up at Kaiba's face. "No," he drawled. "Meijin Kawaguchi is your title. I'd like to know your name name."

Kaiba crossed his arms over his chest and glared. Meijins didn't have names. They willingly gave those up when they inherited the title. That was how it had always been, and surely Jounouchi knew that as a PPSE employee.

"Come on," coaxed Jounouchi. "I could ask Yuugi, but I rather hear it straight from your mouth."

"Why is that so important to you?"

"It's _y__our name_, so of course, it's important! It's what your parents gave you. It's a part of who you are!"

The obvious sincerity of his words threw Kaiba off. Before he could stop himself, an introduction rolled off his tongue. "My name is Kaiba Seto. I look forward to working with you."

The builder bowed with another smile and a wink. "And I'm Jounouchi Katsuya, please take care of me."

* * *

This is an already COMPLETED novella-length fic. A new chapter will be posted every Wednesday until completion. There are a total 23 parts and one epilogue.

I tried my best to give an introduction to certain concepts for those of you who are unfamiliar with Gundam Build Fighters. If there's anything you'd like clarification on, please feel free to PM me here on or send me an ask on my tumblr as alectoperdita.

If you're interested in checking out Gundam Build Fighters, it's a great, fun show. All 25 episodes are available youtube on the GundamInfo channel, officially subbed and released by Sunrise itself. You won't regret it!


	3. Chain of Command

_3: Chain of Command_

"Ah! Meijin Kawaguchi the fourth!" a familiar voice cooed.

Kaiba cringed before schooling his face and posture. He turned and formally returned the greeting with a bow. "Chairman Mashita, it's good to see you."

It actually wasn't.

Mashita was PPSE's founder and current CEO. He was an older man now in his thirties; a self-made man who had built a toy empire from nothing. Mashita had no background in science or business, so how he managed to make a revolutionary discovery like the Plavsky particles would forever elude Kaiba's understanding. If Kaiba had to describe his boss in one word, it would be "sketchy."

Mashita skipped up and clapped a hand on Kaiba's shoulder. "The team tells me you've been hard at work."

Much like in their last two meetings, Mashita was artificially cheerful and overly familiar. The act set Kaiba on edge— reminding him of... He shoved the thought aside and pushed down on the urge to recoil.

"Of course," Kaiba replied in his best monotone. "We are going to win the upcoming tournament."

"Good, good!" Mashita exclaimed in English and clapped his hands together. He glanced back at his ever smug and ever present sentinel hovering steps behind him. "Isn't our fourth-generation Meijin splendid, Baker-chan? Such confidence!"

Baker, Mashita's executive assistant, appeared to be the true power behind Mashita's throne. Where Mashita was flaky, she was focused, but her unwavering loyalty also meant she would never turn on him. She adjusted her glasses before dutifully responding, "Indeed, Chairman. You made a excellent choice picking him."

"Maa..." Mashita preened. "I knew from the moment I laid eyes on you during candidate testing that you would make the perfect Meijin: your concentration, your control, your ruthlessness, your drive to win at all costs. Perfect! So much like Meijin Kawaguchi the second!"

Funny how Mashita never talked about Kaiba's immediate predecessor.

In his time, Kaiba had interacted with enough shrewd business people to read between the lines. Meijin Kawaguchi was nobody without backing from PPSE, and Mashita could break his new career as easily as he had made it.

"I will win," Kaiba promised.

"Marvelous. I look forward to your debut then. Make sure to give them a good show." Mashita squeezed Kaiba's shoulder. Then he continued on his merry way, with a jaunt in his step and whistling a flat tune.

As Baker passed him, she bowed her head in mock deference. Light shifted across her lenses, revealing the calculating gaze usually hidden behind the glare of her glasses. "Please do your best, Kawaguchi-san. PPSE will be counting on you."

Kaiba may have escaped Domino City, but the reality was he had probably traded one fickle master for another. He looked down at his gloved hands and balled them. No, he would overcome and surpass them all in time.

-x-x-x-

"I just had the greatest idea!"

"No," Kaiba replied automatically. The data from his last training session was encouraging. His particle emission rate was holding steady, but it also registered a 20% increase after his Gunpla's last tuning. Which was good, but not good enough. He'd have to find a way to increase the emissions rate by another 30% before the world tournament.

Jounouchi had yet to move away from the door, but Kaiba could feel the pout directed in his direction without looking up. "C'mon, I haven't even said anything yet," he whined.

"No." Kaiba hated to repeat himself, but he needed to remain firm. Jounouchi's last "great idea" involved some absurd Sandhoge/Deathscythe kitbash [1]. If he didn't put his foot down firmly and often, Jounouchi was liable to let his imagination run wild. Kaiba wouldn't be so sore if the builder's wild flights of fancy didn't also produce viable prototypes.

Not that Jounouchi ever let the Meijin's attitude discourage him. Everything that Kaiba threw at Jounouchi rolled off him like rain off oilcloth. Such was the case when he found his chair spun around and Jounouchi looming over him with an arm planted on either side of Kaiba's head, effectively caging him. He narrowed his eyes, ignoring the tingling sensations racing up his spine.

"Jounouchi," he growled as a warning.

Much like a man unaware that he was dangerously close to signing his own death warrant, Jounouchi's grin broadened as he leaned in closer. "Think about it: a three-headed Danazine."

The idea gave Kaiba pause. He could actually visualize what that would look like. It wasn't half-bad.

"Hah, see? Not a bad idea, right?"

Kaiba tried to wheel his chair back, but Jounouchi held fast. He was only released after delivering a kick to Jounouchi's shin.

"Dick," muttered Jounouchi and reached down to rub his leg, though he seemed no more bruised in spirit or body as a result of Kaiba's lovetap.

"Instead of wasting your time on half-baked ideas, you should be concentrating on the task at hand. The world tournament is only three months away. Where are the weapon packs that I asked for?"

"I messaged you this morning, left them in your locker, remember? Didn't you see 'em when you came in?" he asked as he flopped into a chair opposite of Kaiba.

Kaiba hadn't. After his run-in with Mashita yesterday, he had spent the night in the workshop and slept two hours in the sparse room provided to him in the company dorm. Part of him also wanted to scold Jounouchi for breaking into his locker yet again, but it would only fall on deaf ears. He checked his phone. Jounouchi's message about the parts topped the list of the other half-dozen messages bitching about the overtime.

"You stayed the night again, didn't you?" He seemed to take Kaiba's lack of response as a yes and sighed heavily, "Why ya gotta be so fucking stubborn? Don't forget that you have an entire team working with you. You don't have to do everything yourself."

The Works Team was part of the problem— some members were still mourning, while more resented Kaiba's very presence. The last Meijin's death had come as a shock to everyone, including Kaiba. No one could have anticipated the lab accident. Months of work on Gunpla models and weapons tailored to the third Meijin's preferences and fighting style were set aside. No one knew what to make of the new Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth or his abilities, as untested as Kaiba was.

So he didn't have the luxury of a smooth transition like his predecessor— where the second Meijin had reached final stages of his terminal illness and his death was long anticipated. Meijin Kawaguchi the Third had been young; and not only was he widely admired, he had been well-loved too. By comparison, Kaiba knew others saw him as too aloof and/or unjustifiably arrogant. But on some days, the pressure to prove himself made it feel like he could choke on air.

Given his circumstances, it was foolhardy to depend too much on anyone but himself.

"Don't make that face, Kaiba."

The combination of his birth name and the pressure between his eyes dragged him from his reverie. Coming back to himself, he startled when he noticed Jounouchi had scooted close enough to poke him in the forehead. Before Kaiba could smack the offending hand away, Jounouchi withdrew his finger and offered another encouraging smile. Like Yuugi, Jounouchi must have some never-ending well of goodwill to draw from.

Jounouchi continued, "I know you're worried, but I'll be with you every step of the way through the tournament. Just like the old Meijin and his builder."

Kaiba's curiosity was piqued. The third-generation Meijin Kawaguchi cast a huge shadow over everything he currently did. But other than video recordings of his battles and several official interviews, he knew next to nothing about the man himself. Kaiba met him once in person at a promotional event, where they shook hands and exchanged a few words. That had been almost three years ago. "Did you know my predecessor well?"

Jounouchi hummed and tapped his chin. "The old Meijin? About as well as any other PPSE employee, I guess," he admitted several seconds later. "But Chief Allan was like a mentor when I first started here, and I worked in the First Lab before I was transferred to weapons design."

Allan Adams was more than the previous Meijin's builder who'd helped secure three consecutive world championships for the Works Team; he was also the company's chief engineer, specializing in the science of Plavsky particles. That would explain why Jounouchi was so damn good when he had no right to be. He had studied under the best.

"Do you know why he quit the Works Team?"

"He and the third Meijin were close. I think they were at the Academy together. So his death hit the Chief real hard..." Jounouchi trailed off with a faraway look in his eyes.

Kaiba felt a pang of regret. Even he recognized what a lost opportunity that was. Allan Adams would have been a solid asset to have on his side, but his withdrawal from the team was nothing short of a personal rejection of Kaiba.

Jounouchi shook off his gloom. "Enough about that. I'm starved. Let's go eat. The cafeteria's got oden on the menu today!" he declared and rose from his seat.

A hand skimmed across Kaiba's shoulder blades, lighting his nerve endings on fire. Jounouchi had been doing that a lot lately, using little touches to call and guide his attention. But Jounouchi was a tactile person to begin with— Kaiba had seen him hug Yuugi on several occasions. He told himself not to read too much into it.

-x-x-x-

Meijins did not traditionally keep their own offices on PPSE campus, and Kaiba earned some strange looks from upper management when he tried to request one. In lieu of an office, he invited Yuugi for coffee inside his company dorm room. He left the television on in the background, and a soft-spoken newscaster read out the day's news events.

Kaiba cleared his throat before speaking, "I wish to know more about the lab accident that killed the third Meijin."

"Why do you ask?" Yuugi asked and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. Even the hand stirring cream into his cup slowed.

He narrowed his eyes. His request seemed straightforward enough, so he hadn't anticipated any pushback. "Surely PPSE conducted its own internal investigation. That was no small accident. I'm curious as to what they found."

"No, no, there's an after incident report. You're privy to read it as the current Meijin," Yuugi appeared to struggle for his next words. "I'm just… surprised you're asking for it this many months later. I didn't think you cared about what happened to the third Meijin."

It wasn't that Kaiba was glad that his predecessor— that another human being was dead. But he hadn't known the man personally, and mourning the third Meijin now wasn't going to change anything. Yet as his successor, it would also be remiss of Kaiba to completely ignore the circumstances around the man's death. But all he would say to Yuugi was "You'll send me the report then."

Yuugi nodded, "I'll email it to you before the end of the week."

Meanwhile, the news had moved onto its financial segment. Kaiba suppressed a wince when a familiar logo flashed across the screen. The gesture did not escape Yuugi's notice, who turned to glance at the television. Kaiba raised his cup to his lips, hoping that it would mask his discomfort.

"Stock prices for Higuchi Holdings soared today as talk of an impending buyout by the Kaiba Corporation came to a close, with shares closing at an all-quarter high of 8363 yen each. An official announcement from CFO Kaiba Noa is expected within the coming days. Higuchi is a leading electronics component manufacturer best known for supplying the motherboards to PPSE's advanced battle simulator machines. This move, following on the Kaiba Corporation's acquisition of NITO last year, has analysts speculating on whether or not the company will set its sights on PPSE next. As a result, the Nikkei rose by..."

Yuugi faced him again, peering curiously out from under his brightly colored bangs. "Have you talked with your family recently?"

Kaiba almost wished Yuugi would ask about the financial rumors instead. Instead, he glared at the television set, where a video of Noa and the CEO of Higuchi Holdings shaking hands ran on the split-screen. "Why? Save for Mokuba, I have nothing to say to any of them. This is hardly the political climate to be seen associating with them."

Yuugi rolled his eyes. "Don't be over-dramatic like that, Kaiba-kun—"

He felt a tic in his temple. Had Yuugi never seen the previous Meijin in action? Kaiba was practically reserved by comparison.

"—I'm certain that they would be overjoyed to hear from you. It's not as if I'm telling you to hold a press conference. Other than myself and a few of the upper management, no one knows your real identity."

Of course, there was also Jounouchi, but he remained ridiculously oblivious to the significance of Kaiba's family name. He had expected the builder to at least ask out of curiosity, but the question never came.

He laughed. "Yuugi, as always, you can be exceedingly naive."

Call Kaiba paranoid, but he didn't want his connections to the Kaiba Corporation to come to light and jeopardize his new position. He had worked too long and too hard to escape its shadow. For a moment, Yuugi looked like he wanted to say more. But after so many years of acquaintance, he was aware of Kaiba's feelings on the matter and knew when to leave things well alone. Deep down, even Yuugi must have known that his relentless optimism was wasted on the likes of Kaiba Gozaburo and Kaiba Noa.

* * *

[1] A kitbash takes parts from two or more different model kits (not limited to gundams) to make a new unique creation. A number of characters in the Gundam Build Fighters series does this to some degree, because straight assemblies (just following the instructions on the kit box) result in comparatively weaker machines.


	4. Holiday

_4: Holiday_

The previous Meijin wore sunglasses to help cultivate a sense of mystique. Kaiba, on the other hand, didn't need the charade. Maybe it due to his upbringing or some other innate personality trait, but people had been in awe of him or even feared him for his entire life.

He glanced at the man standing next to him. Well, most people anyway— not Jounouchi though. Yuugi came close, but he also had the good sense to back off when told to. Jounouchi, however, approached all his social interactions with the same gusto and never-take-no-as-an-answer attitude. It would explain why he was presently stuck watching Jounouchi fawn over a Tamiya display at the annual Shizuoka Hobby Show.

The Works Team had reached that point in the development cycle where they didn't need the Meijin constantly hovering in the background. They were busy crunching numbers and running computer simulations, while the next calibration test wasn't scheduled for another week. Kaiba couldn't help but stalk the labs while waiting for the next phase— he was a micromanager by nature. While he knew his behavior set the rest of the team on edge, he could only kill so much time battling training dummies or the weakling fighters that frequented the PPSE campus.

Jounouchi had tracked him down in the locker room that morning as he stared down another day of terrorizing his team or some other hapless fighter. Dressed casually in jeans, t-shirt, and leather jacket, the builder snatched Kaiba's uniform out of his hand and dumped it back into the locker in a crumpled heap.

"I'm taking you out today," he declared boldly. Kaiba opened his mouth to protest, but Jounouchi shoved a hand in his face to silence him. "And you can't say no. This is on Chief Allan's and Yuugi's orders."

So here he was on a company-mandated "holiday" with Jounouchi as his escort.

"Kaiba, Kaiba," Jounouchi looked up from the demonstration, starry-eyed and brimming with excitement. "It's the British Mk. IV Male tank! It comes with its own motor and gearbox. It even moves at a scaled speed of 6 kilometers per hour. Isn't it amazing?"

He gave a noncommittal grunt in response, and Jounouchi's face fell.

"Ugh," Jounouchi groaned as he sank into a squat, ruffling his hair irritably. "Shit, I thought I'd at least picked something you wouldn't completely hate." His frustration was obvious as he continued to grumble to himself inaudibly.

Watching Jounouchi sulk, Kaiba felt his conscience nag. As much as he loathed to admit it, the tensions from days past had bled away once they got away from the PPSE campus. God, Jounouchi tried. For all his brash and loud-mouthed temperament, he really tried. And for whatever reason, he seemed to genuinely enjoy and seek out Kaiba's company. Kaiba didn't have many allies at PPSE to begin with, even less any he could imagine calling a friend. Jounouchi openly regarded him as a friend, and Kaiba would be lying to himself— self-delusion was not a trait he sought to cultivate— if he said Jounouchi hadn't grown on him over their month of acquaintance.

Kaiba was capable of meeting him halfway.

The staff manning the booth had begun conversing with each other, while throwing suspicious glances in their direction. Maybe they thought Jounouchi was trying to steal from them. Either way, they were drawing attention from the other show-goers and exhibition staff. Now that they were here, Kaiba didn't want to get kicked out of the show.

He grasped Jounouchi by the elbow and pulled him to his feet. "No, you made the best decision you could given the limited information you had. I'm just not much interested in military miniatures."

Jounouchi immediately perked up. "Why didn't you say so before? Aoshima has some great sports car ones, and we can check out the Bandai booth."

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Why would we need to see the Bandai booth? They already send us samples of everything before market release."

"Yeah, but we're not here as PPSE employees today. We're here as two ordinary guys hanging out and having fun," Jounouchi replied cheekily.

Kaiba wrinkled his nose. "I don't 'hang out'."

What was it that people said? It was lonely at the top.

"Too late! Should've thought of that before you started making evil eyes at the Works Team." Having reclaimed his previous enthusiasm, Jounouchi looped an arm through Kaiba's and dragged him toward the next booth.

-x-x-x-

Later that evening, Kaiba eyed Jounouchi's stash critically. Three shopping bags full of all kinds of kits— not just Gundam— and enough paint to color several mega-sized models were piled up on the sidewalk outside the convention hall. How were they supposed to get all this back to PPSE? They had taken the public transit out here. Jounouchi, on the other hand, was more concerned with assessing the damage done to his finances.

"If your goal was to blow your salary for the month, you've succeeded," Kaiba dryly pointed out.

Jounouchi looked up from his now much emptier and much lighter wallet with a mournful expression. "But you didn't hear them calling you: 'Take me home, Jounouchi-sama. Build me. Paint me!'"

Kaiba snorted. He liked Gunplas well enough, but his interests laid more in battling than building. Other plamos, especially the military ones, couldn't capture his attention in the same way.

"Well, I'm beat." Jounouchi declared, throwing both arms up into the air and stretching. His jacket and t-shirt rode up with the motion, offering a tantalizing glimpse of tanned skin and toned abs. "Oi, my apartment's not far from here. We can walk over there."

Kaiba tore his gaze away and redirected it to his phone. The holo-projection indicated it was a quarter past eight. He swallowed around the lump in his throat. "I should get back."

"C'mon, man," Jounouchi gestured to his bags. "Don't ditch me here. Help me out. I'll treat you to dinner."

Kaiba cocked an eyebrow. "I find it hard to believe you'd have any money left after your spree today."

"Please!" Jounouchi clapped his hands together and pleaded, "I also have some sketch ideas for the Legilis that I can show you."

Yuugi had threatened to straight-up ban him from the labs until the next round of testing if he saw Kaiba set foot on company grounds before the next day. Going with Jounouchi might be the only way he'd get anything resembling work done today. And a part of him was curious. Kaiba was under the impression that Jounouchi lived in the company dorms. But then again, Kaiba also kept an apartment in the city that he rarely saw except on the weekends. Begrudgingly, he took one of the bags shoved in his direction and followed Jounouchi through the moonlit streets of Shizuoka.

A half-an-hour's walk wasn't what he would call "nearby." The bag handle was biting into his palm by the time they stopped in front of a modern apartment building. He rolled his eyes as Jounouchi fumbled with his keys, dropping them twice before another tenant leaving the building graciously let them in. Jounouchi took a detour to his mailbox and returned with some mail hastily stuffed between a motorbike kit and the new RE/100 Nightingale. They rode the elevator up to the fifth floor, before finally arriving at their destination at the end of a hallway.

"I'm home," Jounouchi called as he kicked off his sneakers. He didn't seem bothered to not receive any response. Maybe he said it out of habit.

Kaiba put the shopping bag down before toeing off his shoes. The entryway of Jounouchi's apartment led straight into the living room, which was unsurprisingly messy. Mangas and hobby magazines were strewn across the couch and coffee table. At least there weren't any half-eaten containers of takeout or empty snack bags lying everywhere. The only orderly part of the room appeared to be the two bookshelves flanking the small TV, whose every inch was occupied by either DVDs or finished models.

Jounouchi laughed upon seeing his face. "If you think this is bad, you should see my bedroom. On second thought, never mind. You'd never let me live it down."

"Hn."

"Give me a sec. I gotta put everything away in my workshop," he vanished down the hall with his purchases.

Kaiba listened as he banged around in the other room, shaking his head when Jounouchi crashed into something and cursed loudly. Something green caught his eye. Reaching under the April issue of Gundam Ace left on the couch, he rescued a partially assembled Hi-Zack. There weren't many safe places to set the model aside, so he left it on top of a _RahXephon_ box set on the shelf. Then he began digging through the mess to see if there were any other parts lying around. He quickly unearthed several wheels, a miniature Char figurine, and a handful of stray polycaps.

Several moments later, Jounouchi shouted from his workshop. "I think I have some leftover Chinese in the fridge. You want any?"

Kaiba's stomach growled on cue. He hadn't realized how tired and hungry he was until now. Before he could scold Jounouchi for his stingy offerings, the lock on the front door turned. A slender and pretty brunette with a bag of groceries slung over one shoulder let herself in.

"I'm home," but as soon as she saw Kaiba standing in the living room, she froze midway through removing her shoe. "Oh," she gasped and turned bright red.

God, Kaiba really hoped he hadn't landed himself in the path of an oncoming domestic. He was going to beat Jounouchi into a pulp if that was the case. Not to mention, wasn't this girl a bit young for him? She didn't look like she'd finished high school yet.

Footsteps signaled Jounouchi's return. "Hey, Kaiba, why'd you go all quiet? Oh hey, you're here." He swept past Kaiba and pulled the girl into a tight hug.

Something inside Kaiba _squirmed_.

Her words were muffled in Jounouchi's jacket, so it took Kaiba a few extra seconds to process what she actually said.

"Onii-chan, you could have told me you uhh... you know, had _company_." Her cheeks remained flushed after pulling away.

The squirming thing inside Kaiba unraveled.

"No, Kaiba's a friend from work," Jounouchi seemed to correct her.

She immediately relaxed and the blush ebbed from her cheeks. "Oh, like Yuugi-san."

"Yes, like Yuugi."

The two siblings shared a look and then a nod— a kind of silent communication where she seemed to scold Jounouchi and he placated her in return. Kaiba couldn't be sure though. Given the chance to study them side-by-side, he could make out the family resemblance. It was more in their body language than anything else; the light in their eyes and the familiar way they leaned against one another.

A dull pain pierced Kaiba's heart as he remembered his little brother. Who knew how long it would be before he saw Mokuba again. Maybe he should call him when he went home tonight.

Jounouchi's sister slowly untangled herself, ribbing Jounouchi to finally break free. "I'm sorry. Please excuse my brother, his manners are non-existent. I'm Kawai Shizuka, his younger sister. I'm in my first year of high school."

Kaiba glanced over at Jounouchi, who shrugged.

"Our parents went through a bad divorce," he offered as way of explanation.

"Onii-chan!"

"What? It's true."

"My name is Kaiba Seto," he paused to consider his job title. He hadn't technically debuted as Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth yet. PPSE intended to keep that a secret until the announcement at the world tournament. "I also work at PPSE with your brother."

"Nice to meet you, Kaiba-san," she gave a polite bow. "Please have a seat. Would you like something to drink? I'll go see what's in the fridge."

"Shizuka," Jounouchi groaned. "You don't have to dote on him. He'll get a big head from it. He already expects us to wait on him hand and feet at work."

"It's what you do for guests, Onii-chan!" she lectured and bustled off in the direction of the kitchen. "Especially if they're your superiors."

His eyes never leaving Kaiba's face, Jounouchi smirked and shouted after her. "Nope, Kaiba started two months ago, which makes me the senpai."

"I'm nobody's kohai," growled Kaiba to himself.

He must have spoken louder than he meant to. Shizuka's silvery laughter filled the apartment as Jounouchi's smirk widened in response. He dragged a hand down his face to hide his mortification, grumbling into his palm. Warm, calloused fingers grasped his wrist and pried his hand away. Kaiba's breath caught in his throat. Why was Jounouchi standing so damn close? Didn't he have any sense of propriety? Kaiba glared harder than he had at anyone else all week— and it had been a long one.

Jounouchi laughed. Dammit, Kaiba wasn't trying to be amusing. The rumble of mirth bled into Kaiba's body through the pulse point cradled between Jounouchi's fingers, igniting a fire in his veins. "Lemme make it up to you with those sketches I promised."

It was too late to pull out of Jounouchi's orbit. Kaiba feared he didn't want to. Something was crumbling— had been eroding from the first day he met Jounouchi Katsuya.


	5. Reconnaissance Into Unknown Territory

_5: __Reconnaissance Into Unknown Territory_

Jounouchi's workroom was marginally tidier, but only by virtue of there not being enough free space to make a mess. It was packed from floor to ceiling with kit boxes, cans of acrylic, enamel, and lacquer paint in every color of the rainbow, sketch books, and other modeling supplies. A worktable was shoved up against a wall, its surface clear except for a row of motorbike models perched in the edge.

"You're a plamo geek." It seemed obvious, but Kaiba felt it bore mentioning out loud.

"No shit, you just noticed that?" Jounouchi wagged his eyebrows briefly before furrowing them in concentration. "Now where did I put them? I think I last worked on them on Saturday."

He wandered over to a precarious looking stack of books and papers and started thumbing through its contents. The stack, which stood taller than Jounouchi, swayed like a compromised Jenga tower. Kaiba swiftly crossed the room and planted a hand against it to keep it from toppling onto him.

"Hm, thanks," Jounouchi muttered distractedly as he continued to search through the pile.

They stood in comfortable silence for a minute, broken only by the sound of rustling paper. Kaiba straightened as he caught a sudden shift in Jounouchi's body language. The deep breath and tensing shoulders seemed almost wary, and it made Kaiba leery in turn.

Without looking up, he asked, "Hey, Kaiba, why do you want to be Meijin?"

Kaiba clenched his jaw and his body tensed. "That's an intensely personal question, wouldn't you say, Jounouchi?"

"Not really. I like models, so I became a builder, and I work at PPSE because I like Gunplas the most. I was curious, that's all. Sorry if I hit a nerve." Jounouchi bowed his head. Then he stood, clutching a wad of sketch pages in his hand. "Here."

Kaiba snatched the offered pages, careful not to touch Jounouchi's hands. He stalked over to the other side of the tiny room and busied himself with the sketches. Jounouchi sighed, but he left Kaiba alone as he began tidying up. As Kaiba flipped through the sketches, his anger quickly drained away and left him feeling hollowed out. He tried to concentrate on the drawings instead— as usual, Jounouchi had some good ideas like including the weapons backpack and reinforcing the docking for the core fighter. But as the silence dragged on, Kaiba grew more and more disconcerted. Jounouchi wasn't a quiet person by nature, and for him to be reduced to this reserved state inside his own home...

And Jounouchi wasn't wrong. His question wasn't out of order or even strange to begin with. It wasn't his fault that it struck a raw nerve for Kaiba. How would Kaiba begin to explain his complicated home situation, especially without giving who his family was? But at the same time, he could feel the builder sulking from across the room. "Jounouchi."

Upon hearing his name, Jounouchi froze in the middle of rearranging a shelf of paints.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you," Kaiba held his breath until a response came.

"It's fine. I won't ask again." His shoulders remained stiff though.

It didn't seem right and Kaiba wanted to offer an olive branch of sorts. He took a deep breath and began, "As you probably know, Yuugi and I are from the same hometown. His family owns a hobby shop in Domino. When I was ten, I ran away from home with my little brother."

Kaiba grimaced as he thought of his younger self. Jounouchi turned to face him once again, cautiously optimistic and nonjudgmental. He leaned back against the shelf and tilted an ear toward Kaiba, indicating for him to go on. The action emboldened Kaiba.

"I'm not going to tell you why we ran away," he shot a pointed look at Jounouchi, who rolled his eyes in return. "All you need to know is that it was a stupid thing that stupid children did. It was naive, but I thought everything would be fine as long as Mokuba was with me. To make a long story short, we wandered around the city for the better half of the day and ended up in front of the Turtle Hobby Shop when Mokuba finally couldn't walk any further. Yuugi was a middle school student at the time, and he was the one that found us outside the shop that day. He tried to convince me to tell him how to contact our parents, but I refused. Eventually, he settled for getting us inside and out of the cold. I... was a less than gracious guest."

Jounouchi smirked. "You mean you were a brat."

"Yes, but I recognized he was right. Mokuba was tired and hungry, and I'd caused him to suffer that way." Old anger resurfaced, but he pushed it down. "Yuugi and his grandfather fed us and let us stay the night. I woke up the next morning and found Mokuba gone. I had overslept. Mokuba was downstairs in the shop with Yuugi, who was giving a Gunpla demonstration to some of the neighborhood kids. It was the first time that either of us had heard about Gundams or Gunplas."

Jounouchi interrupted to boggle, "Wait, even if this was nine years ago, you'd never seen Gunplas before?"

"Our father was strict," was the only explanation Kaiba was willing to give at this point. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story or not?"

Jounouchi zipped his mouth with a grin.

"Mokuba was entranced. He was five and his new friend had just shown him a flying toy robot. I, on the other hand, was less than impressed. But you know how Yuugi is— he has a way with people." It was childish, but he had felt so betrayed when Mokuba latched so easily onto Yuugi.

Jounouchi nodded to himself. He probably thought he knew where the story was going. "Yuugi got you to try too, and you haven't looked back since."

Kaiba redirected his attention back to the sketches. Jounouchi was smiling so fondly that his eyes seemed to glow. It wasn't surprising that he'd misinterpreted the story in the most positive light. Kaiba's affinity for Gunpla battling was rooted in more than a child's wide-eyed wonderment. Taking rein of that Gunpla had been the first time he felt in control of anything in his life, when every aspect of it and his future was decided by his father. As he grew older, he gravitated back to that sensation time and time again when he couldn't find it anywhere else in his home or school life. His father's disapproval of the hobby had been icing on the proverbial cake.

Kaiba would let Jounouchi think better of him for a while longer.

-x-x-x-

In the end, he stayed and had dinner with Jounouchi and his sister. The meal was a standard home-cooked affair, simple but filling. Despite the siblings' best collective effort to include him, Kaiba felt out of place. But most of all, he was jealous of how often Jounouchi got to see his own sibling. The time between instances where he saw Mokuba in person measured in months now.

Later, Jounouchi stopped him in the door on his way out. "Tonight was fun," he said as warm and inviting as ever.

Kaiba forced his hands to remain at his side and nodded mutely. Social convention dictated that he should thank Jounouchi for his hospitality, but he had spent so much of his life trying to ignore what-was-done. All he could squeeze out was a curt "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

Jounouchi's smile deflated somewhat.

His solitary trip back to his apartment acted as a counterpoint to the rest of his noisy day. Compared to Jounouchi's place, his apartment was sterile and barely lived-in. He hadn't even chosen his own furniture, having left it up to Yuugi or whomever at the company made the final arrangements. Unable to stomach the sight of the living room that looked like it had been ripped from the pages of a furniture catalog, Kaiba headed toward the bedroom.

He left the lights off and fell straight into bed. The alarm clock on his nightstand glowed the dark. Turning his head, he stared at the time, thumbing the phone in his pocket and weighing his options. As much as he tried to deny it, he had been lonely since moving to Shizuoka. It was partly why he had thrown himself into his work so hard. He'd told himself it was because he could concentrate without any distractions, but...

He fished out his phone and called the first number on his speed-dial.

"Nii-sama?" a surprisingly perky voice answered on the other end. "Is everything okay?"

Kaiba's mouth went dry, and he stared out into the empty darkness of his bedroom. He cleared his throat. "Everything's fine. Shouldn't you be asleep?"

Mokuba groaned. "Sakuragi-sensei gave us this pain-in-the-ass assignment. Half the class is still up and working on it."

He exhaled, sinking into the mattress as the tension rolled off in waves. "Do you need help?"

"Nah, I'm already on the last problem. Yamato didn't start until earlier today. He's going to be up all night," Mokuba cackled.

Yamato— Kaiba racked his brain— that was Mokuba's current roommate. He listened to the faint sounds of graphite scratching against paper being carried over the phone line. It was a familiar sound in more ways than one. Whenever he and Jounouchi reviewed test data together, Jounouchi doodled to fill the lulls in their interactions. He and a sketchbook were never far from one another.

"Are you sure everything's okay, Nii-sama? You seem off today."

"I'm tired."

_I'm lonely, but not as much as I should be._

"Because of work?"

"Yes."

Mokuba sucked in a deep breath, but his next words were barely above a whisper. "I spoke with Okaa-sama last week. She hopes you're doing well. She would be happy if you called her sometime."

Kaiba couldn't promise anything. Talking to his mother ultimately put her in a difficult position. She would feel honor-bound to report to her husband. In the end, it wouldn't do him, Mokuba, or their mother any good. Radio silence was working well so far.

"We'll see," he said at last.

Mokuba must have understood. He quickly shifted the conversation to less contentious grounds. He regaled Kaiba with stories about his friends at boarding school, and Kaiba shared bits and pieces about his work at PPSE. Several times, he came close to mentioning Jounouchi by name before the words dried up. If Mokuba noticed the gaps, he chose not to point it out. They talked for close to an hour before Kaiba told his brother to go to bed. It was a school night.

"Nii-sama, I'm rooting for you. Even if you don't win the whole tournament, you're still the number one fighter in my book." Mokuba's words grew soft as sleepiness crept up on him.

Nine years ago, a jolt of electricity raced up his arms as soon as he gripped the control orbs for the first time. The sensation confused him then, but now he could pin it down as anticipation. He didn't beat Yuugi in that first battle, but the older boy had praised his potential and control skills. Afterwards, Mokuba stared up with mouth agape and eyes as wide of saucers. "You're amazing, Nii-sama," he gushed. In that moment, he had felt bigger than his ten-year-old body could contain.

He was older now, and the stakes were all the more higher. Neither Mokuba's admiration nor Yuugi's praise sufficed enough anymore. The World Championship would take place in four months, and Kaiba would finally make his debut. He needed not only to impress, but to win. Winning was the only acceptable outcome.


	6. Safe Harbor

_6: Safe Harbor_

"Good morning, Kawaguchi-san," Suzuki, the director of the 1st Lab, smiled and bowed.

Kaiba froze in his track and stared. The corner of Suzuki's eyes drew up and crinkled. His entire face lit up, making him appear several years younger.

"Is something wrong?" The engineer shrunk back, touching his face nervously.

He narrowed his eyes, but Suzuki didn't run away with a flimsy excuse like expected. Then he looked around the room and was surprised to find that no one was staring at them. He shook his head to clear it. "It's nothing, Suzuki-san. Have a good day."

Suzuki let out a whooshing breath as he left the lab.

But the more Kaiba thought about it, the more he realized this wasn't an isolated incident. He'd been working at PPSE for almost five months now. Looking back, he could count the number of times someone had spoken to him in a genuinely friendly manner on more than one hand. This was not a new development... It had been happening for weeks, and it had somehow escaped his notice until now.

Overall, the Works Team was less anxious in his presence compared to when he started. When he walked into the room, he no longer turned the heads of every occupant. They no longer obnoxiously used Jounouchi as a middleman in every communication attempt. It used to be that if they needed to notify Kaiba of a testing session or demonstration, they'd reach out to Jounouchi first. Jounouchi used to regularly whine about how he wasn't Kaiba's secretary, but not recently. Last week, Takahashi, the most timid and youngest of the team, had hand-delivered some requested data.

Maybe there was something in the water.

-x-x-x-

"People are warming up to you. They've seen how hard you're working and your team respects that. You even have fans among the female employees." Yuugi bent forward and placed a cup of steaming green tea on the table in front of Kaiba.

Kaiba stared at him, unimpressed.

"This is a good thing," Yuugi sighed heavily. "Loyalty is far more effective than fear."

His father, Gozaburo, would have laughed at the idea, thrown Yuugi out of his own office, and then got him blacklisted from every company in the the industry. Kaiba himself was merely ambivalent about it. He ran a hand through his hair. "The change, it seems sudden is all."

"Probably not as sudden as you think," Yuugi rounded the other side of his desk and sat down with another mug in hand. "People aren't as hot-cold as you think. The Works Team has been working alongside of you for months now. They've gotten to know you and interact with you. Or take one specific person as an example."

Kaiba leaned back in his seat and crossed his legs. "So it's Jounouchi's fault," he scowled. He should have known Jounouchi was at fault.

Yuugi was smiling behind the cover of his mug— his eyes crinkled in the same way that Suzuki's did. "When people sees you two together, they get to see you in a different context than their almost-boss. Jounouchi-kun helps humanize you in their eyes, he makes you seem less aloof and cold. And he's stood up for you more times than you know. He's been a good friend. You should be grateful."

He shifted— his skin suddenly pulled too tight over the rest of his body. "I don't need him to defend my poor besmirched honor," he hissed. "I need him to do his job."

Yuugi watched him with a light too close to pity in his eyes. "Kaiba-kun, if you asked me to name your greatest flaw, I'd say it's your tendency to think the worst of people. You're so convinced of your own unlikability that you assume people judge you more harshly than they do. I've known you long enough to see where it stems from, but never forget that Mokuba-kun loves you. I like you. And it's not a bad thing if Jounouchi-kun or others like you too."

The clenching and squeezing feeling he'd become intimately familiar with in recent days returned.

Yuugi exhaled deeply, "Your team's not the only ones who've changed. Surely, you've noticed that you've changed too, Kaiba-kun."

He turned his gaze away and glowered at the potted plant in the corner. That was the crux of the problem, wasn't it?

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi wasn't answering his summons. Kaiba growled and set about the arduous task of tracking down his wayward builder. As usual, he wasn't at his workspace. He never was. It was too early for lunch even by Jounouchi's standard, but Kaiba checked the cafeteria anyway. There wasn't an obnoxious blond head in sight.

"Jounouchi? I saw him headed toward Technical Sciences last," Otogi muttered absently. As usual, he was more concerned with his phone than doing actual work.

Indignant, Kaiba spun around and stomped away.

The Technical Sciences division was situated in an auxiliary building connected to the main hub. The Works Team and most of the other labs worked out of the main hub. It used to be in an entirely different building at the far end of the grounds, but that was before the deadly explosion that killed the previous Meijin. As far as Kaiba could tell, the original location was entirely on purpose. Technical Sciences served as the backbone of PPSE; they were the only people who knew the manufacturing process of Plavsky particles and exclusively worked on battle system developments. The division's employees often kept to themselves and had minimal interactions with anyone outside of the administration. So what was Jounouchi doing over there?

A security desk forced him to sign in, scrutinizing his company ID badge before letting him through. The entrance to one hallway was locked. When he tried to swipe his ID card, the system rejected him with a harsh beep. Through the glass partition, he could see a series of foreboding metal doors, each bearing a sign that declared "authorized personnel only." It appeared to be the inner sanctums of Technical Sciences, and Jounouchi was even likely to have access than himself.

He followed the next hallway, growing more and more annoyed. Along the way, he passed several employees wearing the division's specific uniform, and they all gave him odd glances before scurrying along. Maybe they recognized him or maybe they didn't, but it seemed everything about Technical Sciences was that unwelcoming.

Kaiba walked past the break room first, before hearing Jounouchi's complaint from behind him. He quickly doubled back.

"I can't wait until this championship is done with." Jounouchi's forehead hit the table with a thud and jostled the can of coffee by his arm. "Please kill me and put me out of my misery, Chief."

Recognizing the other person in the room, Kaiba froze short of the doorway and flattened himself against the wall.

Allan Adams, PPSE's chief engineer, chuckled and reached out to steady the can before its content spilled. "It's tough, but you'll see it's worth it in the end."

"I don't believe you," Jounouchi said into the table. "If I had known the workload was going to be this insane beforehand, I might not have joined the team."

Kaiba clenched his fists. Jounouchi had been the one to worm and weasel his way onto the team in the first place. If he thought he could drop out now, he had another thing coming. Thinking back to what Yuugi said yesterday, Kaiba found it impossible to imagine what the last few months would have been like without Jounouchi on the team.

Jounouchi had become a fixture.

Would the Kaiba from before even recognize the him now? Apprehension crawled under the surface of his skin.

"Are you not getting along with the Meijin?" Adams cocked his head curiously. "Do you want me to put in a transfer for you after the tournament?"

"What? No, no!" Jounouchi's head shot up, and though Kaiba could only see the back of his head, he could imagine what sort of expression Jounouchi was most likely making. "I don't want to give up! And Kai— Kawaguchi and I are solid, even if he's a hardass."

"That's good. You haven't complained about him in a while. Has he adjusted to his role well?"

Jounouchi snorted. "He acts like he was born to rule us lesser mortals, so I don't think the job was ever going to be the problem. He's really good though, Chief. He was leagues above the other fighter candidates, and he trains hard. He's going to get us far in the tournament."

Kaiba relaxed his hands and sagged against the wall.

"But there's more," Adams watched Jounouchi with a thoughtful expression.

Jounouchi turned his face and pressed his lips into his upturned palm, sighing. "Kawaguchi, he kind of runs hot and cold without warning. There are times when I think I might actually be able to call him my friend to his face, and other times where he looks like he'd be more than happy to chuck me out an airlock."

"Good thing we don't have any of those around here," Adams joked.

"Har har," Jounouchi retorted sarcastically. "It's frustrating when I can't predict what his mood is going to be like. Was yours this damn hard to understand?"

"I suppose mine had his difficult moments with that stubborn streak of his." Adams gave a small, sad smile. "But do you trust Kawaguchi?"

Jounouchi nodded.

"Good, trust is the cornerstone of a builder-fighter partnership. You'll go far together like that. I have confidence in your abilities, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi beamed, obviously pleased by the compliment. "By the way, how is Yuu—"

"Not on company grounds," Adams snapped suddenly, hushed but urgent.

"Right, sorry," replied Jounouchi, sounding abashed.

"Come over to my place this Friday. We can talk then," then Adams added in a teasing tone. "I'm making hamburgers."

Jounouchi's head shot up from the table. "Shit, yours are the best, Chief."

Adams laughed. "If there's one thing Americans should know best, it's a good hamburger."

Kaiba pushed off from the wall. As curious as he was, he shouldn't use it as an excuse to sneak around and eavesdrop. It wasn't like him. He hadn't exactly gained new information out of it either. As Yuugi said, Jounouchi spoke highly of him when it counted. Kaiba previously knew about Jounouchi's relationship with Adams, but there was something about their familiarity with one another that felt like a punch to the gut. His reaction was both irrational and unnecessary. Of course, Jounouchi had friends all over PPSE, but he would never rub Kaiba's face in his popularity.

That was enough of that. He came in search of Jounouchi for a reason— there was work to be done.

"Jounouchi," he said as he approached. Adams perked up first, meeting eye-to-eye for the first time. One of Kaiba's hands moved of its own volition, coming to rest on Jounouchi's shoulder where heat bled through the uniform jacket like a banked fire.

Jounouchi jumped at the touch. "Where the hell did you come from?"

"Kawaguchi-san," Adams greeted him, polite but distant. The man who laughed and joked just moments ago was nowhere in sight. "I'm pleased to see you are well."

Kaiba nodded in acknowledgement, but offered no greeting of his own.

Jounouchi's eyes flew to the clock on the wall. "Shit, we have a team meeting, don't we?"

"Yes, ten minutes ago. Lucky for you, they can't start without me," Kaiba drawled.

Jounouchi threw his head back and guzzled the last of his coffee. With careless grace, he slung the empty can into the trash can in the corner. "Sorry, gotta run, Chief. We'll talk again later."

"Of course, have a good meeting, Jounouchi, Kawaguchi-san." Adams waved politely from his seat.

Jounouchi turned and grabbed ahold of Kaiba's sleeve, dragging him out of the room. Despite his grumblings, Kaiba allowed the manhandling to happen. With the builder back by his side, the agitation crawling underneath his skin began to calm.


	7. State Secrets

_7: State Secrets_

The list of tournament contestants had been finalized and would soon be posted to the net. As one of the perks of working for the competition organizers, Kaiba received a copy more than an hour in advance. The list contained many familiar faces like Ricardo Fellini from Italy and Luang Dallara from Thailand. More than half of the fighters had participated in last year's championship, but a significant portion of those left over were newcomers to the international scene like Kaiba himself.

He paused over Finland's dark horse entry. Even before reviewing her fighter stats, she stood out from the crowd in that helmet and latex bodysuit cosplay. She had taken down Carlos Kaiser, last year's second place, in the qualifiers. He was more concerned with her average battle win time: one minute, twenty-one seconds. But it could also be a fluke given the small number of battles in her records. He track down any available videos of her battles later.

A familiar stretch of shadow fell over him and asked, "So what are you smiling about?"

"Pardon?" He didn't bother to look up.

Jounouchi jabbed a finger at his lips, stopping short of actually touching him. "That. You've had that creepy smirk all morning. It scared the shit out of Takahashi. Are ya thinking about how you're going to beat up all the other contestants?"

Winning and beating others was always a positive in his book, but that was not the reason for his good mood. Absently, he reached up to rub his cheek, noting its fullness. So he had been smiling all this time. He would have to keep himself in better check if other people were noticing (though misinterpreting) as well. Still, it was news he could share with Jounouchi. "I received an email from my brother this morning. He's coming to watch the championship with some school friends."

Jounouchi broke in the sunniest grin Kaiba had seen in awhile. "That's great, man! Do you need me to make any arrangements for you guys? Will I get to meet him?"

"Yes, it is. No, we're going to keep it low-key because I'm still working. And maybe I'll introduce you after I win the championship." Kaiba responded to each inquiry in rapid-fire. Seeing his own happiness reflected back at him through Jounouchi was intoxicating.

"Confident, aren't we?"

"Always." His smirked widened by a fraction.

As Jounouchi squeezed around him to reach his workstation, he reached out, patted Kaiba on the shoulder, and started to draw away. Moving on auto-pilot as he scrolled to the next entry on the list, Kaiba caught Jounouchi's wrist and held it. He wanted to kick himself afterwards.

"Did you need something, Kawaguchi?" Jounouchi asked, simultaneously subdued and on edge. The smile on his face wavered a fraction.

Kaiba reinforced his mask, inwardly lecturing himself for letting down his guard. "Don't forget to keep this between us," the words tumbled awkwardly off his tongue. He let go and leaned back in his seat.

Jounouchi brightened again. "Not to worry, it's our little secret."

-x-x-x-

The bits punched through the last Zaku's armor like it was paper, riddling it with over two dozen holes. It creaked, tittered back, and exploded.

"Simulation battle ended," the battle system announced, and the cockpit and the backdrop of city ruins fell away.

A cheer erupted through the test chamber, startling Kaiba. The adrenaline from the battle had yet to run its course and left him disoriented in face of the scene that now confronted him. The entirety of the Works Team had not been watching at the start of the simulation.

The three weeks before the World Tournament was nothing but back-to-back testing, tuning, and training. The entire Works Team lived and breathed Gunpla from 7am to midnight. A number of members worked overtime, choosing to take advantage of the company dorms instead of going home. Kaiba hadn't been back to his apartment in ten days; Jounouchi probably even longer.

They were running a skeleton crew for tonight's last test. Barring any last-minute disasters, the team was finally looking forward to a restful weekend. Bakura Ryou, the current team leader that took over Adam's old position, had dismissed most of them an hour ago. Yet everyone had returned, and many had changed out of their work uniforms.

"Thank you, Works Team, for another year of hard work!" Adams called from the console platform. He brandished a champagne bottle and popped the cork to a round of applause. Bakura produced a platter of glassware from nowhere, took the bottle, and began pouring.

Adams hopped down from the raised platform with a flute in each hand to approach the battle system. He offered one each to Kaiba and Jounouchi. Jounouchi took his without hesitation, while Kaiba only took his by the plastic stem after Jounouchi nudged him.

He eyed the other flutes now being passed out to his team members. "Are you sure it's wise to have alcohol on company premises?"

"We have permission from the administration. This is a Works Team tradition, after all," Adams winked.

Several long-standing team members wandered over. One of them explained, "Chief Allan started it the first year he was team leader. We were all super surprised when he contacted us last week and told us it was happening this year too."

Kaiba frowned. "I wasn't told anything about this."

Jounouchi threw an arm over his shoulders. "That's because it was meant to be a surprise for you. You've worked as hard as anyone else on the team."

"Consider it a belated welcome to the Works Team, Kawaguchi." Adams raised his flute in a toast.

Kaiba drank to hide his discomfort.

After the champagne, they migrated from the testing chamber to the team office, where more alcohol and food waited. Other PPSE employees, like some of Jounouchi's former colleagues from Weapons Development, regularly wandered in and out of the party. The team members got more and more drunk over the course of the evening, and when fueled by liquid courage, everyone jumped on the opportunity to converse with Kaiba.

"Did you see the readings in that last simulation? A particle reaction speed of 0.10," gushed Honda Hiroto, who was responsible for QA. His cheeks were flushed after his fifth beer.

Nosaka Miho, the group's materials expert, nodded vigorously, causing her ponytail to whip up and down. "I never dreamed we'd get numbers like that this year!"

"To Meijin Kawaguchi the fourth, cheers!" someone raised a cup and Kaiba was forced to drink more oolong tea to another round of toasts.

Perhaps Jounouchi sensed Kaiba's discomfort, as he never drifted far from Kaiba's side for long. He acted as a buffer against the conversations that were wearing thin on Kaiba and by drinking the alcohol that older members kept trying to foist on him. But even without the aid of alcohol, the evening grew progressively fuzzy as the forced pleasantries in combination with Jounouchi's insistent touches left Kaiba feeling flayed and exposed.

When they broke out the half-dozen bottles of Suntory whisky, he knew it was time to make an escape to the courtyard. Several people were outside smoking; Kaiba refused their offer of a cigarette and moved further away from the door.

August in Shizuoka was as stifling as July, high in temperature and high in humidity. Sweat dampened the back of his neck by the time he reached a circle of benches frequented by the employees at lunch time. The first thing he did was shed his two uniform coats on a stone bench and loosen his cravat. When that wasn't enough to beat the heat, he undid the top two buttons of his shirt. His head cleared while he took in several deep breaths of fresh air. He spent the next few minutes checking emails on his phone, slightly disappointed to not have received a reply from Mokuba yet. Occasionally a roar of noise flowed into the courtyard, but he couldn't muster the usual level of annoyance toward it. He was growing soft.

"Hah! Found you!" Jounouchi exclaimed, swaggering into view with a million volt smile.

"I wasn't hiding," he replied and put down his phone. He needed a break from the team's loud and overbearing goodwill. Didn't they find it exhausting to be that happy?

Jounouchi plopped down next to him, brushing up against his side. The air grew warmer still. Jounouchi squirmed, restless and fidgeting like a five-year-old child. Finally, he shifted around, pulled both legs up onto the bench, and leaned his full back and weight against Kaiba's arm. Given a few more centimeters to the right and Jounouchi would be falling straight into his lap. Kaiba tried to push him off, but Jounouchi buckled down and refused to budge.

"Get off."

They were dangerously close.

Jounouchi's voice rumbled through his body as he spoke, "Relax, Kaiba, it's a party. Who knew you'd be so comfy?" His head rolled back against Kaiba's shoulder— his blond hair tickling against his jawline.

"You're drunk," he accused. His own voice sounded a million miles away.

"Okay, maybe a little. It's only my third beer," Jounouchi swirled his can of Kirin and shoved it in Kaiba's face. "Have a sip."

Jounouchi being this close always had an effect: it wore down on Kaiba's control and prompted him to act in ways he wouldn't otherwise. Kaiba's actions became mere impulses with little to no conscious planning. He took the can automatically and sniffed it, wrinkling his nose. The taste was as sour and bitter as he remembered. His head spun, but he couldn't tell if it was from the alcohol or Jounouchi's proximity. The same hazy quality from the party inside crept over him again.

He passed the beer back to Jounouchi, who shrugged and drank from it again. Watching Jounouchi touch his lips to the spot where Kaiba's had lingered seconds ago was a revelation. A sudden wildfire sprung in the pit of his belly, spreading to the rest of his body and threatening to burn him to ashes. His fingers twitched, itching to claim skin or to weave themselves into Jounouchi's wild hair, which appeared almost silvery in the moonlight.

His eyes reflexively fell to the dewy sheen over Jounouchi's lips. He'd probably tasted as bitter as the Kirin, but Kaiba could overlook that for now. Jounouchi lifted the can to his mouth again, but Kaiba caught his wrist first. Craning his neck, Jounouchi eyed him with curiosity and a hungry light. Because tried as he might, Jounouchi was never too good at hiding his emotions, especially now that his inhibitions had been lowered through alcohol.

His blood beat a steady rhythm against his eardrum— heart hammering against his rib cage. Jounouchi's pulse skyrocketed under his thumb. Kaiba could see their mutual desires in painful and burning clarity; his own wants mirrored in Jounouchi's face. It gave him pause while poised on the brink of a free fall.

Jounouchi licked his lips, coating them in wet anticipation.

Neither of them wore parachutes, and there was no certainty to cushion their landing. Kaiba breathed in, breathed out, and stepped back from the edge.

-x-x-x-

Unable to sleep, Kaiba lay on his back and stared up his bedroom's darkened ceiling. The same train of thought— one truth— kept running through his head, churning madly and without end.

He wanted Jounouchi.


	8. Proving Ground

_8: Proving Ground_

The rest of the weekend advanced at a sloth's pace. Kaiba spent Saturday morning prowling his apartment like a caged animal, aggressively rearranging his furniture over and over until he wore grooves into the hardwood floor. By noon, he threw in the towel and went into PPSE office to take advantage of their battle system. He couldn't risk damaging the Legilis at model damage level A this close to the championship, but resorting to fighting with his old 00 Qan[T] turned out to be even more fulfilling. It was his machine first— from before this Meijin Kawaguchi affair, from before he met Jounouchi...

He fought battle after battle, until his wrists ached and his finger cramped. Soon, even the machine ran out of computerized opponents to throw his way. Though running through the shooting range program may be good practice, it didn't offer the same satisfaction as smashing in a few dozen Zakus. He powered off the battle system in disgust and stalked into the team's office.

Unsurprisingly, it was devoid of life. The Works Team was probably collectively sleeping off the biggest hangover they've had in some time. The office space had been cleaned, and he couldn't find a single wayward beer can. It was like the previous night hadn't happened.

That thought managed to be both depressing and freeing.

In the clear light of day, Kaiba was certain he'd made the right choice. Whatever mutual (or not so mutual) attraction that may exist between him and Jounouchi, now was a horrible time to embark on a potentially explosive relationship. They were co-workers, which meant if things between them went south, it would go far south. Jounouchi knew the Legilis like the back of his hand— he had to when he half-designed its current incarnation. Kaiba hesitated trusting the machine to another builder, with maybe Allan Adams being the sole exception. But Adams wasn't on the Works Team, Jounouchi was.

Above all, Kaiba needed to win this tournament. Too much of his pride rode on that. He needed to prove to his father and older brother that he could rise above them in his own way. The only acceptable response was to compartmentalize and section off his feelings, stack them neatly in the corner of his mind and not touch them.

He didn't have time for romance or the distractions that accompanied it.

-x-x-x-

Come Sunday afternoon, Bakura picked Kaiba up from his apartment and drove him down to the stadium across the bay. The team leader spent the ride giving a run-down of Kaiba's accommodations and other last-minute minutiae.

Crossing the bay, the PPSE stadium rose like a chrome behemoth on the horizon. Decades ago, this part of the Shizimu Ward used to house aluminum production facilities before manufacturing moved overseas. PPSE had seized on the opportunity, bought up the land, and built their mini-city dedicated to Gunpla glory. He remembered how his father had mocked the endeavor, but it was now a testament to PPSE's corporate might.

_Anything was better than that monstrosity that Gozaburo built out on Alcatraz_, he thought darkly to himself.

Bakura droned on in the background, "There's a reception party tonight for all the fighters. Unfortunately, you won't be able to attend it because your debut isn't until tomorrow. Jounouchi-kun will be going as the PPSE representative, so you can talk to him if you have any specific questions."

He tore his gaze from a flock of school children gaping at the stadium. His heart had skipped a beat at the builder's name. "Jounouchi's already there?"

Bakura took a gentle right turn that brought them into the heart of the players' village. "He checked into both of your rooms earlier today and is familiarizing himself with the area. He's going to be your on-site backup in this tournament. While it's best for you to fight your debut battle alone, feel free to have him support you from the navigator's pit at any other point. He'll also handle any repairs that might come up. I know he spent the last week building spare parts in case. As per tournament rules, the rest of the team won't be able to touch your Gunpla."

Kaiba nodded. It was exactly what he'd anticipated. The PPSE Works Team already held an enormous advantage over the other contestants. If they were given any more leeway, it would be seen as outright cheating or favoritism on part of the organizers.

They pulled up in front of one of the fighters' hotel. Jounouchi waited curbside in full work attire. Their eyes meet through the car windows, and Kaiba steeled himself.

"Good afternoon, you two," Jounouchi greeted as Kaiba and Bakura stepped out of the car.

Kaiba studied his face, which remained open in its usual friendly manner. Jounouchi appeared perky and well-rested, exhibiting no signs of having spent the weekend agonizing over anything out of the ordinary.

Jounouchi cocked his head and asked, "Is everything alright, Kawaguchi?"

If Jounouchi wasn't going to bring up the party, then Kaiba saw no need to do it first. If he was lucky, Jounouchi indeed had been drunker than he claimed and remembered little about Friday night. A part of Kaiba admittedly felt disappointed, but he crammed it into a box and stowed it away in the back of his mind. With distance in space and time, Kaiba even began to wonder if what he thought he saw in Jounouchi existed in the first place. Instead, he focused on the tie around Jounouchi's neck, the neatly pressed uniform jacket, and his wild hair somehow tamed into submission. He leaned back against the car and smirked, "For once, you look presentable. It must be a special occasion."

Jounouchi tugged consciously at the crooked tie knot, face scrunching in resignation. "Yeah, gotta look good representing the company and all."

It was different, but still good, Kaiba admitted to himself. To distract himself from the thought, he reached into the backseat for his bag. Admiring Jounouchi's appearance was the last thing he should be doing after deciding to leave his ill-advised attraction behind.

Bakura wished them both luck before climbing back into his car and driving off. Jounouchi led the way into the hotel, where the lobby swarmed with fighters either socializing or checking in. Two teenagers, one redhead and the other with blue hair, were squabbling with each other at the front desk and they held most of the lobby's attention. Several people glanced over at Kaiba and Jounouchi, but their focus soon moved on after taking in their stark white uniforms.

But as they approached the elevator, someone called, "Jounouchi!"

Jounouchi nearly tripped, before whipping around with a mixture of hope and surprise reigning over his facial features. The speaker was a tall, blond woman with an impressive bust. Kaiba instantly recognized her from the competitors' database.

"Mai?" he exclaimed.

The two flung themselves at each other, coming together like a roaring storm of glee and clingy limbs. At some point in their attempts to out-hug one another, Jounouchi grabbed the woman by the waist, swept her off her feet, and spun her. Her shocked expression spurred Jounouchi to laugh harder and spin her faster.

"Put me down, you oaf!" she shrieked and beat at his shoulders. "When did you get so freakishly strong?"

"Shaddup, I was always strong," he complained as he lowered her back to the ground.

She tweaked his nose and smirked. "No, you used to be cute."

If Jounouchi dared blush, Kaiba was going to hurl his bag straight at his face. Thankfully, Jounouchi remained amused more than anything else. "I haven't heard from you in months. I thought you were overseas. What are you doing here, and why didn't you tell me you were in town?"

Even as he spoke, Jounouchi maintained one hand on her forearm. Kaiba bit down on the urge to comment or slap the hand away. He tried to tell himself that this was Jounouchi— always excited and grabby— being himself. Still, didn't Jounouchi have any shame? They were in public for God's sake. Kaiba should have taken the chance to slip away and leave them to their "two-person world." But Jounouchi hadn't told him where he'd be staying and he had the room key, which left Kaiba in the very awkward position as a forced witness to their intimacy.

"I'm here as one of the fighters competing. I told Shizuka-chan about it, but made her promise to keep it a secret. I wanted to surprise you, Jounouchi."

"That's amazing news!"

"And you're here for work?" Her fingers glided coyly across Jounouchi's tie— although Kaiba wagered she didn't have a shy bone in her body. "I do have a weakness for men in uniform."

Kaiba's patience snapped so forcibly that he was surprised the sound couldn't be heard outside of his body. He cleared his throat, startling them with the reminder of his presence. This time, Jounouchi flushed, going pink in his cheeks. The woman, on the other hand, visibly perked up with curiosity as she swept her eyes over Kaiba from head to toe. Kaiba returned her examination with a full scowl.

"Your coworker?" she asked Jounouchi.

"Uh yeah, he's..." Jounouchi must be struggling with how to introduce Kaiba without giving his title away.

He folded his arms across his chest and drew himself taller as he spoke, "Yes, and we're here on PPSE business. You're Kujaku Mai, winner of Japan's second block. Your Gunpla's base is the Jagd Doga. You're also known as the 'Harpy Queen' in fighter circles."

Kujaku had above average stats among the fighters in this year's competition, but she hardly registered as a worthy opponent on Kaiba's radar. He doubted they would reach a point in the tournament where they'd face each other directly. She probably wouldn't even make it past the qualifiers. She would be gone soon enough.

She ribbed Jounouchi. "See, Jounouchi? You should be more informed like your friend there. You need to know all about your competition."

"No, that's because he's a data-crunching freak of nature," Jounouchi protested.

Kaiba wasn't going to dignify the dig with an response. He punched the up button for the elevator instead.

Kujaku seemed to finally get the message as she peeled herself off Jounouchi. "Okay, I won't keep you boys from your work then. We'll catch up later, Jounouchi, and you can spill some of those juicy PPSE secrets."

"Hell no. I want to keep my job, Mai."

Good, because Kaiba would eviscerate him if he tried. The elevator chimed as it reached the ground floor. As soon as the doors opened, Kaiba stepped inside, planted one hand against the door, and stared balefully at Jounouchi. The glare sent him scrambling into the elevator and to his rightful place at Kaiba's side.

"Later, Jounouchi," Kujaku blew a kiss through the gap between the closing doors.

"What floor?" Kaiba demanded a moment later.

"Oh right," Jounouchi reached forward and pressed the button for the sixth floor.

Reining in his temper, Kaiba kept his tone as neutral as possible when he said, "Who you socialize with is none of my concern, Jounouchi, but don't forget you're here to work first and foremost."

It was more a reminder to himself than anything else. Kaiba couldn't fly off the handle like a jealous lover every time someone approached Jounouchi. Not to mention, Jounouchi was not going to appreciate anyone, least of all Kaiba, telling him who he could or could not associate with. They were colleagues, and their relationship needed to remain professional. His priorities were to win the tournament.

Maybe he had overestimated his ability to cope with his predicament. Some margin of error would have to be accounted for. He had never really cared about another person in this way. Like Jounouchi himself, this was going to be an experience that would take getting used to.

Jounouchi smiled apologetically. "Yeah, sorry to leave you hanging there. It's just we haven't seen each other in like two years. You'll probably be the same way when you see Mokuba again."

Kaiba peeked at him out of the corner of his eyes. The comparison to his little brother did not escape him. He leaned back against the elevator wall and let his arms fall to his sides. "Perhaps you're right, but I won't hesitate to wipe the floor with your friend if it comes down to a battle."

Jounouchi laughed. "Yeah, I know. I wouldn't dream of convincing you not to."

-x-x-x-

On the morning of the first competition day, he and Jounouchi holed up in one of the stadium's many green rooms and watched the opening ceremony from the TV. Kaiba snorted when they announced the first period of qualifiers. Four-player knockout matches had opened the qualifiers for the last three years, couldn't they come up with anything new?

He sat back and watched as the usual suspects scored the first points of the qualifiers. Rainer Cziommer of Germany won match one off the bat, followed by Thailand's Luang Dallara in the third match and a queasy-looking Ricardo Fellini in the sixth. He rolled his eyes when Kujaku Mai managed to secure four points from winning match number seven, even as Jounouchi cheered in the background. The eighth match ended in overwhelming victory for Aila Jyrkiäinen, who wiped out all three of her opponents in less than a minute.

"Wow," Jounouchi muttered under his breath. "What the hell happened there?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes as he watched the replay. Her Qubeley must be equipped with some sort of funnels, bits, or fangs. It was the only possible explanation— even if that suggested the components were moving too fast to be seen by the naked eye. But all signs currently pointed to her being his biggest roadblock on the path to victory.

In the fifteenth match, Jounouchi oohed and awed over the Gunpla piloted by a pair of teenagers from Japan's third block. The modified S trike Gundam, which ultimately won, had some interesting gimmicks, but Kaiba doubted it had the raw power needed to advance much further. Not to mention, the fighter and builder had been that close to being disqualified for tardiness.

Kaiba's own match was the very last one scheduled for this period. He smirked to himself and collected the metal suitcase containing his Gunpla. PPSE really knew how to build suspense.

Jounouchi stopped him at the door. "Hey, Kaiba, I got one last thing for you."

It was a pair of sunglasses, similar to the one the last Meijin wore.

He groaned. Kaiba was willing to put up with a lot for theatrics' sake, but the sunglasses were over-the-top ridiculous. "I don't need it."

"C'mon, it's part of the costume," Jounouchi gestured to the dark trench coat and the cravat. "You gotta wear it. It's a Meijin tradition."

"I don't 'gotta' do anything."

"Ugh, come here, you big baby."

Jounouchi struck with the speed of a Stargazer, hooking a finger around the cravat and tugging him forward. The sudden force sent Kaiba stumbling, his eyes widening in shock as he regained his balance before running into Jounouchi. He wanted to shout or sputter in rage, but the endearingly fierce expression on Jounouchi's face caused his mouth to run dry. With his free hand, Jounouchi slipped the sunglasses over Kaiba's eyes. His fingertips grazed against Kaiba's earlobes, brushing back hair before they settled the frame into place. Kaiba suppressed a full-body shudder but leaned ever so slightly into the touch. The tinted glass did nothing to dim the glimmer in Jounouchi's eyes.

He didn't have time for distractions, Kaiba reminded himself. But the words rang false.

Jounouchi withdrew his hands and stepped back to admire his handiwork. He glowed with pride and confidence. "That's better. Go knock 'em dead, Meijin Kawaguchi."

Any remaining ambivalence vanished like smoke. Kaiba was invincible. He would win, and both he and Jounouchi knew that. His feet moved automatically, taking him out of the green room and down a long stretch of corridor. The announcer's voice boomed over the sound system, "After an unfortunate tragedy earlier in the year, the PPSE Works Team returns again as the organizer's special entry. Their fighter is the next 'God of Gunpla,' Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth."

Every eye in the arena was glued to Kaiba, and he didn't shy away from the attention. This was how it was meant to be. Only a portion politely applauded his entrance, but he would have them all cheering by the end of the match. Mokuba was also somewhere in that crowd, and Kaiba was not going to disappoint his little brother. The other fighters gathered around the battle system regarded him with suspicion and caution, but he had already written them off as easy pickings.

"Beginning Plavsky particle dispersal. Field 13: Tundra. Please set your GP Base. Please set your Gunpla."

The chrome white and blue Gunpla now set on the launch pad was the culmination of months of hard work— its heart and soul molded by him, Jounouchi, and the rest of the PPSE Works Team.

Kaiba grasped the control orbs— frissons of excitement racing up his arms. "Meijin Kawaguchi, Imperial Legilis, prepare yourselves!"


	9. Fait Accompli

_9: __Fait Accompli_

His instruments registered the seismic tremors in the distance. A large explosion mushroomed on the horizon like a smoke signal. Turning his sensors to the fighters beyond the imaginary forest, Kaiba easily located the source even among the more than five dozen Gunplas still active at this point in the battle royal.

He opened up the video comm to the navigator's pit behind him and asked Jounouchi, "Why is there a mega-sized Zaku running amok on the field?"

Jounouchi furrowed his brows in concentration as he analyzed the information being piped to his HUD. "It's unmanned, the computer is controlling it. Wait a sec, I'll ask someone for more information."

A prompt popped up— Jounouchi was reaching out to someone outside of the battle arena. Kaiba did a sweep of his surroundings. He spotted a tree rustling several kilometers to the north seconds before [Caution] flashed across his screen. He jumped back, dodging a volley of missiles, and responded with a shot from his beam rifle into the canopy.

A Leo mobile suit lurched out of the trees, before collapsing and going up in flames. From somewhere around the giant battle system's peripheral, a fighter screeched in distress as his cockpit went dead.

"Eh, Jounouchi? Why are you calling?" a familiar voice leaked through Kaiba's still open commlink.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes. What was Adams doing at the stadium?

"Chief, we have an emergency. A computer error seems to have deployed one of the 1/48 MS-06F Zaku II's onto the battlefield. Can you do anything about this?"

"Okay, hang in there. I'll check it out and get back to you as soon as possible."

Kaiba's questions were temporarily laid aside as three additional mobile suits besieged them. He sneered. Did they really think 3-on-1 was enough to take him on? Kaiba would severely disabuse them off that notion. He cut down the first two in a hail of bits. As the last attacker turned to flee, Kaiba drove his beam saber through where the mobile suit's nuclear drive would have been housed.

Jounouchi had a response by the end of the skirmish. "Chairman Mashita arranged for this. He says it's a surprise event. What a mess! You can't just release something like that without warning."

Kaiba rearranged his grip on the controls, already honing in on his next prey. His goal in this round of the qualifiers was to amass the highest body count and assess the other competitors in the tournament. "If they're defeated, then they don't belong on the battlefield," he grumbled.

Jounouchi's response wasn't surprising, but that didn't make it any less annoying. "We should go help them."

"What would that accomplish? I'm not here to play Mashita's immature games. I'm here to win," he spat through gritted teeth.

"It's a matter of fairness."

For a moment, he thought he misheard Jounouchi— except that was exactly something Jounouchi would say. Kaiba bit off the laugh bubbling in his throat and cocked an eyebrow at him through the video. "And if the Legilis gets damaged?"

"Then I'll fix it!" Jounouchi defiantly declared and glared back.

They stared at each other for several long seconds— their equally stubborn wills caught in a deadlock. The Zaku wasn't being controlled by any player, thus there was no point in fighting it. Defeating it, though an accomplishment in itself, wasn't going to score them additional points. Yes, it was unfair of Mashita to unleash a rampaging monster onto the battlefield, but the man was probably only thinking about ratings and drumming up hype. It was an effective tactic, even if it distracted the fighters from engaging with their real opponents. As long as they steered clear of the Zaku, they would be fine.

Jounouchi looked away first, but he delivered the finishing blow. "Oh, I see, you don't think you can take it."

Kaiba gritted his teeth. Jounouchi's transparent attempt to goad him was ridiculous, but even more ridiculous was it worked. Jounouchi might as well have accused him of being "gutless." Given the triumphant gleam in his eyes, Jounouchi knew he'd won too.

Their Imperial Legilis took to the sky. Several Gunplas, including a GINN Assault Type and three Gyan variants, flew out of the treetops like some not-particularly-bright birds pursuing their predators. Kaiba pivoted in mid-flight, shooting down all four with a sweeping blast from his beam rifle and tail cannon and leveling a square kilometer of forest in the process.

Jounouchi whistled. "I'm more worried about what you'll do to the Zaku than what it'll do to us."

He rolled his eyes and didn't reply.

Scans indicated that every other fighter in the immediate vicinity was fleeing from the mega-sized Zaku. They were the only ones brave enough (or stupid enough) to fly toward the damn thing. The forest's vegetation swiftly dropped off, giving way to a rocky desert with sparse shrubbery and low plateaus. From here, the Zaku stood out in the skyline like a hulking skyscraper. Three other machines registered in the area: Ricardo Fellini's Wing Gundam Fenice, the Gundam X Maoh from Japan's 5th Block, and Japan's 3rd Block's Star Build Strike Gundam. He raised an eyebrow at the main camera's view— they were actually trying to fight the Zaku.

At first, Kaiba maintained his distance to study the Zaku's movements and armaments. Conventional beam weaponry dissipated over its surface without scratching the paint. Due to its sheer size, the machine's capacity to store and channel Plavsky particles far exceeded that of the regular 1/144-scaled models. Kaiba might even worry about his Legilis' well-being if it wasn't apparent that the Zaku was only interested in one Gunpla.

Jounouchi noticed too. "It's only going after the Star Build Strike, and completely ignoring the Gundam X Maoh and the Wing Gundam Fenice."

The Zaku swatted a giant hand at the Strike Gundam, but the Gunpla zipped back and forth to evade its reach. Kaiba aimed at the exposed elbow joint. For an instant after his rifle beam hit, it turned red hot but ultimately resisted the energy. It was as he feared: the joints that were easily the weakest point in any Gunpla's construction were cast in metal.

Three more video commlinks popped up alongside Jounouchi's, one each for Fellini, a Yasaka Mao, and a Reiji.

"Meijin Kawaguchi!" Yasaka exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

He ignoring the three fighters he had been forcibly linked with. After all, he wasn't here to make friends. "Jounouchi, do you have any information I can use to defeat this thing?"

Jounouchi's fingers flew across the holographic keyboard, zipping through screens and screens of schematics. "You're going to have to give me a second."

"You got us into this mess. You better have a plan to get us out of it!" Kaiba snarled.

"One of us alone isn't going to be able to defeat this. Try combining our attacks, aim for the head," Fellini declared.

The three other Gunplas started concentrating their rifle fire at the Zaku's head where its main camera was stored. Kaiba growled and followed suit as the head began to melt and warp, bubbling as new pockets of hot air formed from within the plastic. He wheeled back to maintain some distance when the head finally exploded and released a plume of dark smoke into the sky, obscuring the Zaku from sight.

"We did it!" Fellini shouted.

Kaiba tensed, tightening his grip on the control orbs. "No," he barked. "It's not over yet. Destroying the head would have blinded the pilot, but this Zaku is being controlled by the battle system. It'll get all the sensory data that it needs from the simulation."

A giant green hand cleaved through the smoke, and the headless machine lurched forward like a Frankenstein monster that refused to die.

"In that case, Reiji, use the discharge!" Reiji's builder ordered from the other end of Reiji's open comm. "Put all the particles into one shot."

The Star Build Strike took to the air— the headless Zaku's focus still following it as sure as a homing beacon. A handle ejected from the end of the Strike's shield binder, which it grasped and slotted into the side of its rifle as the barrel extended. Four red markers suddenly appeared behind its back and the first of the three indicators on the underside of the barrel lit green.

The Zaku wasn't going to wait for their attack to finish charging. It plucked its last cracker and threw it at the Star Build Strike with unfailing aim.

"Oh no, you don't!" Fellini cried as he and Yasaka threw themselves into the path of the cracker.

"Idiots!" Kaiba bit out. There were other ways to help without putting themselves in harm's way.

Fellini's beam mantle softened the cracker's percussive blow, so both machines hit the ground with relatively minimal damage. But then the Zaku fired two oversized missiles from the pods mounted to its legs.

"Kaiba, help them!" Jounouchi half-pleaded and half-ordered.

"Go, bits!"

A stream of particles rushed forward and impacted with one of the missiles, causing it to detonate in mid-flight. He wasn't going to get to the second one in time. A katana pierced the second one, knocking it off-course before detonating it. While Kaiba would have like to determine who had thrown the weapon with startling accuracy, he was more concerned with the Zaku now hefting its bazooka weapon onto its shoulder. It took aim at the Star Build Strike again.

The second indicator on the Star Build Strike's rifle lit up.

"Hurry up," Reiji frantically urged over the comms.

Cursing under his breath, Kaiba discarded his rifle and switched over to the beam buster cannon in the Legilis' chest unit. He dialed the output up to maximum, even though it would deplete his remaining particle supply.

"What about the two diffuse beam cannons in the shoulders?" Jounouchi asked.

"No, concentrate everything into the beam buster."

He fired, but not at the Zaku itself. It was unclear if a beam buster at max output would do enough damage to make a difference, and if it didn't, his Legilis would probably not survive to find out. The ground beneath the Zaku split open like the tectonic plates beneath the earth had shifted. The Zaku stumbled, thrown off-balance, and began an uncontrolled free fall backwards.

"Get out of the way, Kawaguchi!" Reiji roared from above.

Multiple [Caution] alerts screeched in his ears, turning his HUD from blue to dire red. Kaiba pushed his engines to their limit and thrust the Legilis into the lower atmosphere. From there, he watched as the four markers moved forward to create a window in front of the Star Build Strike's rifle. The beam that the rifle fired had also turned from green to red. The readings he was collecting were off the charts. Once the beam's stream hit the window, it divided on the other side, raining a shower of destructive energy down on the flailing Zaku.

"Oh my god, so that's what their shield really does," Jounouchi muttered in amazement.

It didn't nullify beam attacks; it absorbed them. Kaiba couldn't tear his eyes away from the climbing numbers on his scans. A worthy opponent had unexpectedly revealed themselves.

The buzzer sounded as the Zaku exploded to the roaring approval of the stadium's crowd.

-x-x-x-

"Wait a moment, please!" someone called after them in the hallway after the fighter. "Meijin Kawaguchi."

Behind him, Jounouchi stopped. "It's you guys."

The two teenage boys about 16 or 17 in age slowed as they approached.

"We wanted to thank you for your help," Iori Sei, the builder, said and dropped his head into a deep bow.

"I didn't do it for you," he said coldly.

Iori's face screwed with a familiar-looking determination. "I know, but thank you anyway, Kawaguchi-san."

Jounouchi bent forward to examine the scuffed Gunpla cradled in the teenager's hand. "Is your Star Build Strike going to be okay for tomorrow's qualifier?"

"Oh, the damage is minor enough that I can fix in one night. I have an extra shield prepared. Please don't worry about Mao-kun or Fellini-san either, they're fine too. Thank you for your concern, uh—"

"Jounouchi."

"Right, Jounouchi-san! Thank you for asking." Iori dipped into another bow.

"Oi, I've been watching you," the red-headed boy known simply as Reiji stepped closer and gave a sharp-edged grin. "You're really strong. So don't lose until we get the chance to fight."

Yesterday, Kaiba would have laughed at the boy's bravado and presumption, but he had just seen a sample of what they were capable of. He smirked and turned away in a flare of his trench coat. "Do your best in the qualifiers and maybe we'll meet again in the final bracket."

-x-x-x-

Back in Kaiba's hotel room, Jounouchi handed him a chilled bottle of green tea. "You did good today."

With his free hand, Kaiba wrenched off his sunglasses and tossed them onto the table with a clatter. He loosened his cravat and collapsed into one of the chairs by the window.

"It was unnecessary," he finally said after cracking open the bottle and drinking from it. It was refreshing— exactly what he needed after that last battle.

Instead of moving over to the other chair, Jounouchi planted his butt on the edge of the coffee table in-between. He angled himself to face Kaiba, all loose-limbed and easy smiles. "Yeah, but you gotta admit, it was kinda fun. Didn't it feel a bit like Susano bringing down Orochi?"

Kaiba snorted, propped his elbow on the chair's arm, and pressed his cheek against his palm. "More like Don Quixote tilting at the windmills. We were fortunate that the Legilis didn't suffer any real damage. Don't forget that I'm the fighter in charge. Do not force my hand like that ever again."

Jounouchi sprang forward, planted both hands on Kaiba's knee, and leaned in until his face was centimeters away. He narrowed his eyes and in that instant, he appeared a complete stranger made of flint and steel. "I didn't force anything today. No one can force _you_ to do anything you don't want to. But tell me, Kaiba, what would be the value in winning by defeating a damaged Gunpla? Isn't it better to fight them at their absolute best?"

Jounouchi's words jarred something loose in Kaiba's memory, but he couldn't pinpoint why they sounded so familiar. Kaiba has heard those words from someone else's mouth before, but from where?

Jounouchi continued, "They're good kids, Kaiba. What Chairman Mashita did today was selfish, and if he wasn't going to fire my ass on the spot, I'd go and give him a piece of my mind about what happened today. Those kids deserve a chance to compete fair and square like everyone else. Everyone at this tournament does."

"There's no such thing as a fair fight in real life. People will take advantage of your weaknesses and ruthlessly target them. That's the real world, Jounouchi. It made no sense to help them today if our goal is to win the championship."

"Maybe, but this isn't the real world. This is Gunpla Battle, it's not life or death. It's not stupid to want worthy rivals, people who will actually challenge you to improve. And it's not the end of the world if you lose once in awhile. So why not push ourselves out of our comfort zones every now and then?" Jounouchi's gaze softened by the end of his speech, returning the person that, all too often, saw right through Kaiba.

For the longest time, only winning had mattered in Kaiba's book. It was something drilled into him from birth. No son of Kaiba Gozaburo's should settle for anything less than first place— anything short of a hundred percent was failure. Things like fun and teamwork were crutches that lesser people latched onto to make up for their innumerable shortfalls. Kaibas should need for none of that. Yet he felt less and less like a proper Kaiba with each passing day.

Kaiba sighed, "Still, I'd rather not make a habit of it. I wasn't even able to defeat that Zaku myself." It was a fact that stung his pride, but not as much as he imagined it would. It was more uncomfortable proof of, as Yuugi previously put it, "the ways he was changing."

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure they probably wouldn't have beaten it if you weren't there to help," Jounouchi declared.

As usual, Jounouchi's unwavering confidence was heartwarming, even if ultimately unsettling. Kaiba's gut twisted. He clenched his hand tighter around the bottle, battling the urge to push back a lock of hair falling into Jounouchi's eyes. No matter how hard Jounouchi cursed and combed his hair to tidy his appearance, it never seemed to stay put for long. But Kaiba preferred that way; wild and untamed.

Kaiba dropped one hand away from his face and reached across the gap between them. Jounouchi's eyes widened, as if realizing their proximity for the first time, tensing as his breath stuttered. All Kaiba had to do was lean in and he would finally know if Jounouchi tasted as fiery as he'd imagined. Jounouchi would probably let him too. But the dusk's orange light could play tricks on Kaiba's perceptions and Jounouchi always burned brightest in those moments before the sun set, leaving Kaiba as helpless as a moth.

Instead, he flicked his finger and shattered the moment. "Who has time for annoying challengers? I already have my hands full with you," he said imperviously and sank back into the chair with a shaky exhale.

"Ouch, that hurt, you fucking bastard," Jounouchi pulled back and rubbed his forehead.

His knees still smoldered where Jounouchi had touched him. "If you have time to waste lecturing me on bullshit, you should dedicate some of it to thinking about counters for some of the Gunplas we saw today."

Jounouchi stood and moved away. "Fine, fine, I'm gonna give the Legilis a once-over and make sure it's ready to go for tomorrow. You wanna grab some dinner afterwards?"

"I'll come with you," the words tumbled out of Kaiba's mouth automatically. Watching Jounouchi light up with the prospect of company, Kaiba lost the will to berate himself.

"We can order room service!" Jounouchi bounced excitedly on the heel of his feet. "I heard they're showing the _War in the Pocket_ OVAs on TBS tonight. We can watch it together."

"I've never seen it before."

"Don't worry. It's super serious and depressing, so it's right up your alley."

Kaiba may not need a lot of things— affection, companionship, diversions— but it didn't change the fact that Seto wanted them.


	10. Yellow Alert

_10: Yellow Alert_

Through the qualifiers, Jounouchi shone as bright as the sun and as true as the north star. Kaiba navigated toward him, unaware of the dark clouds starting to gather at the edge of their little world.

-x-x-x-

The competitors drew random weapon lots for the third period. Kaiba drew the number one. His broadsword cleaved his unlucky opponent's railgun and Gunpla in twine.

But the most ridiculous match-up was Iori and Reiji's baseball glove and balls versus Luang Dallara's bat. It seemed that the teens from Tokyo had more tricks yet hidden up their sleeves.

Kaiba pretended not to notice when Jounouchi snuck off to congratulate the team afterwards.

-x-x-x-

Fourth and fifth period were a shooting contest and tamaire respectively. He only needed one shot each to hit the five targets in the bullseye, much to Jounouchi's delight. Playing tamaire with another dozen Gunplas should have been a joke. But as silly as the children's game was, it was still a skillshot contest. Kaiba's team came out on top for the match.

That night, Jounouchi fell asleep in the second bed in Kaiba's room as the day's tournament recap played in the background. He had asked for Kaiba's old GN sword several days ago. With their rooms located next to each other, it was hard to miss Jounouchi tinkering into the late hours of the night. He spent most of the day stifling yawns.

Kaiba didn't have the heart to wake him up and send him back to his own room. He pulled the comforter over him and took a walk to the nearest convenience store. With that bottomless pit of a stomach, Jounouchi was going to be hungry when he finally woke up. Out of his Meijin Kawaguchi costume, no one paid much attention to him. The night breeze rustled through his hair and the quiet calmed his tumultuous thoughts.

Along the way, he spotted Iori chatting excitedly with a man whose back was turned to him. Kaiba could only make out the dark beret pulled tight over wisps of dark brown hair and the scarf wrapped around the man's neck. Wasn't the man hot in those clothes in the middle of summer? He passed them without greeting them.

Further along his route, he ran across Reiji and a silver-haired girl sitting on a park bench. They were both too engrossed in examining Reiji's wrist to notice their surroundings. He doubted Reiji would recognize him at the moment.

At the twenty-four hour convenience store, he picked up several cans of coffee, energy drinks, and two boxed bentos from the refrigerated aisle. But in the end, Jounouchi slumbered through the night, while Kaiba tossed and turned without catching a wink of sleep.

-x-x-x-

"Hello, boys," Kujaku greeted buoyantly with a flirtatious swing of her hips.

Kaiba could have choked her for her sunny disposition alone— well before she even grabbed Jounouchi by the scruff of his neck and planted a wet kiss to his cheek. Her lips left a bright red stain on his skin. It was another item on the growing laundry list of offenses that the day had committed against Kaiba— the day was too bright, the crowd was too loud, and why the fuck was everyone smiling?

The sixth period consisted of 3 vs 3 team battles. It was just his luck, his very rotten luck, that he randomly drew Kujaku and a meek looking teenage boy from France currently ranked at 53rd as teammates. This was the cherry on top of Kaiba's misery sundae.

He glared darkly at Kujaku, who either didn't notice or didn't care. Maybe the sunglasses were dampening the effect. Maybe if he took them off, she'd spontaneously combust. Jounouchi noticed though.

He ribbed Kaiba harshly and scolded, "Be nice to Mai. You're teammates for today."

"I should have smothered you in your sleep," Kaiba growled murderously and flexed his fingers.

The French boy edged away as soon when he heard Kaiba. He started glancing at the other team gathering at the other end of the battle system, probably wondering if he was better off taking his chances with them. Kujaku, on the other hand, watched them with a indecipherable light in her eyes.

"God, you don't have to bite my head off like a little bitch. You know ya could have kicked me out last night. I can't help it if I snore," Jounouchi folded his arms defensively over his chest.

Kaiba's attention tunneled on Jounouchi. It was second-nature after having spent so long fixated on him. He stepped up and jabbed Jounouchi in his crooked tie, then ground his fingertip on the spot like he was twisting a knife. "Human beings do not snore at the decibels of industrial construction equipment. Jounouchi, you are the most uncouth slob—"

The rest of his tirade was cut off by the buzzer announcing the start of the match. With another guttural growl, he tore himself away to approach the machine console. Behind him, he could hear Jounouchi and Kujaku's hushed conversation, which sounded a lot like "so you guys share a room, hmm?" and "goddammit, Mai, not now."

He turned his mounting ire on his last remaining teammate and snarled, "Don't get in my way."

The French boy squeaked and nodded frantically.

Kaiba didn't bother to group up with his teammates, Kujaku's Jagd Doga and the French boy's Gundam Rose, after being launched onto the battlefield. He flew straight for the center of the map. Like a lamb led to the slaughter, his first opponent landed within striking distance. Kaiba drew both beam sabers and charged at the Serpent Custom. Another opponent in a Forbidden Blue leaped to their teammate's defense, blocking with the shield in one hand and swiping with a scythe in the other. Kaiba sidestepped and slashed with his beam saber, leaving a jagged scar across the Forbidden Blue's face.

First blood was his.

"What the hell are you doing? Pull back," Jounouchi screamed over the comms.

Kaiba dismissed the video display with a vicious swipe of his hand. It popped back up almost immediately, followed by one from Kujaku.

"Don't fucking hang up on me!"

He lifted one hand off the control orb long enough to make a rude gesture at Jounouchi.

"Save the domestic for later, boys," Kujaku oozed smug amusement through her own screen. "We have asses to kick and names to take."

Jounouchi, on the other hand, made a keening noise that sounded like a dog needing to be put out of its misery. Kaiba took small comfort knowing he wasn't the only person on the verge of breaking down and committing a few dozen murders. For now, he'd settle for trouncing the opposition. He caught the scythe's next swing across the gap in his shield binder. With a flick of his wrist, he sprayed a stream of beam bits that punched through the scythe blade and then took out the left half of the Forbidden Blue's head. Kaiba grabbed the beam rifle strapped to his side and unloaded five shots into his opponent's center.

With its teammate down, the Serpent he initially targeted started retreating back through the ruined city streets. It shouldered its Gatling gun and fired blindly at Kaiba. Kaiba called up the Legilis' bits again, pooling them together to form an energy shield against the hail of bullets. He aimed his beam rifle and waited for an opening to appear. There— he squeezed the trigger in between heartbeats. The energy attack pierced through his own bits-made shield and straight through the Serpent's shoulder joint, ripping off the arm and the Gatling gun it held. The next shot tore through the chest, triggering an explosion.

And that was two down. He didn't need teammates.

"Kaiba, above you!"

He should have spotted it when he first landed, but fatigue did terrible things to a person's ability to function. A Cherudim Gundam had taken up a sniper position on a nearby roof. The long chrome barrel winked in the simulated sunlight, promising certain doom. Kaiba was wide open standing in the open crossroad of abandoned streets.

But before the Cherudim could fire, a barrage of missiles slammed into the building's crumbling facade. The Cherudim practically face-planted in the asphalt after being thrown from the roof.

"Sorry, Meijin-san, can't let you have all the fun," Mai cackled as her purple Jagd Doga landed in front of him. Her over-sized beam machine gun made short work of the Cherudim, riddling it with more holes than Swiss cheese.

With all three of their opponents down, the buzzer screeched and the computer declared their victory.

Kujaku approached him once the holographic cockpits faded away, moving as svelte as a jungle cat on the hunt. "I had a feeling you were the new Meijin when we first met in the hotel lobby. I hope we get a chance to fight each other in the finals," she purred.

Kaiba left without a word and returned to his room for a much needed nap. He woke up later to a face full of junk food piled next to his pillow— Jounouchi's idea of a peace offering, no doubt. He sighed heavily, before rising from bed and retrieving Jounouchi from next door. Together, they spent the rest of the night stuffing their faces and pouring over data from the day's matches.

-x-x-x-

Something was in the air. He caught himself looking over his shoulders and dodging shadows that weren't there.

It must be the sleep deprivation.

-x-x-x-

Shouting emitted from the open door down the hall. Kaiba rubbed the bridge of his nose and went to investigate. The first thing that drew his attention was the splintered wood around the lock. Someone had kicked in the door. Whatever he expected to find, it wasn't Reiji staring down a heavily sweating Mashita.

"If anyone messes with the people giving it their all in this tournament— no matter who it is— I won't show them any mercy," Reiji thundered. He spoke with the familiarity of someone who was used to being obeyed without question.

Mashita stared in raw, abject horror.

Reiji turned to leave and stopped short when he spotted Kaiba in the hallway. They stared at each other, then Reiji nodded slowly in acknowledgment, stepped out of Mashita's room, and started down the hallway.

"Ah, Kawaguchi-kun, if you see Baker-chan, could you please send her here?" Mashita's smile was jagged, like a puzzle not pieced together correctly.

Kaiba stalked away. He wasn't Mashita's secretary. He caught up with Reiji by the elevator, planted himself between the boy and the door with crossed arms. "Do you want to tell me what that was about? Mashita could have disqualified you from the tournament for what you just did."

He was doomed to be surrounded by idiots that tried to think with their muscles instead of their brains.

"Tch," Reiji huffed and looked away.

"Does it have something to do with what happened in today's race?"

By now, Reiji and his partner should have earned enough points to advance to the finals. Kaiba had expected it. But after today's blunder, the pair had fallen into seventeenth place. Only the sixteen teams with the top scores would advance to the finalists' bracket. If they didn't score the points they needed in the final period, they would be going home in two days.

Reiji tensed and clenched his fist. "Sei and I were attacked by some strange Gunpla inside the lake. It wasn't part of the race. Old man Ral said it was being controlled by a man named 'C' from the Gunpla Mafia."

Before Kaiba could stop himself, a short bark of laughter whooshed past his lips. Sometimes he wondered about the sanity of the world he had embraced.

"Yeah, Sei had the same skeptical look you do now. But the point is someone had hired him to interfere with us."

Kaiba raised both of his eyebrow in question. "And you think that person was the chairman?"

"The mega-sized Zaku specifically targeted Sei and me during the battle royal. That was deliberate. He sent that one in, didn't he?"

"He did."

Both Adams and Jounouchi had said that Mashita personally arranged for the Zaku. But he wondered if Reiji knew how much his accusations sounded like crazy conspiracy theories to an outsider. Except that those weren't the only strange incident to take place in this tournament. Kaiba paid careful attention to all of his competitors. Luang Dallara was a world-class Olympic ball player, so setting a match between him and another fighter in a game of Gunpla baseball was akin to throwing the match in Dallara's favor. Three times did not make for a coincidence, it was a pattern of sabotage.

He should ask Jounouchi to look into the matter. Jounouchi was the one that cared about fairness and even playing fields.

"Ugh," Reiji groaned, scratched his neck irritably, and straightened his posture. "Whatever, Sei and I will get into the finals, no matter he throws at us. You should probably watch out for that boss of yours though, he's not trustworthy."

But Kaiba already knew that— something foul was afoot in this tournament.

-x-x-x-

The final period of the qualifiers consisted of a series of one-on-one battles spread across two days. Jounouchi alerted him to one particular match in the lineup though. Reiji and Iori would fight Fellini on the first day.

"They're all friends. I hope it'll be okay," Jounouchi gnawed on his thumb as he stared at the lineup.

Remembering Reiji's resolve from last night, Kaiba brushed off his concern. The boys had the will to win, and Kaiba had his own opponent to contend with. Though he and nine other fighters were already guaranteed a place in the finals regardless of the outcome of their next battles, Kaiba intended to keep up his perfect win streak.

Which he did.

After destroying Khalifa of Oman's Legend Gundam, Jounouchi pounced him in a bear hug in front of the entire stadium. In that moment, Kaiba never felt more glad to be wearing the Meijin sunglasses that obscured half of his face. In private, he gave Jounouchi a tongue-lashing about respecting personal space.

Nothing dented Jounouchi's good spirit though, and Kaiba's entire body continued to tingle for the rest of the day.

Match 26 ended up as the day's highlight. Jounouchi had dragged him to watch the fight in-person from the fighters' observation room, which directly looked out onto the battle system's platform. The room was unbearably tense, like there wasn't enough oxygen for the handful of other spectators inside. Jounouchi sat on the edge of his seat for the entire time, muttered and cheering to himself like an overactive child.

Reiji and Fellini fought tooth and nail, with every weapon at their disposal. When they had no weapons left in their arsenals, they resorted to their bare fists and threw their Gunplas' whole bodies into the battle.

"Why is he doing all this? Mr. Fellini already has a place in the finals," Nils Nielsen, the American champion, mused out loud.

Kaiba mentally agreed with him. They were wrecking their Gunplas, which would become a dangerous disadvantage to whomever advanced to the finals.

"You don't get it, do you?" Jounouchi turned to Nielsen, whose eyes narrowed with an edge of suspicion. "You don't seem like a big fan of Gunpla, so watch them carefully. _This_ is what fighters are supposed to do. A real battle requires that you throw everything you have at it."

Kaiba and Nielsen made brief eye contact over Jounouchi's shoulders, seemingly reaching the same counter-argument: that passion was not the deciding factor of victory. He kept that to himself though, knowing Jounouchi would not be dissuaded otherwise.

The battle was almost too painful to watch— frames beaten beyond repair and parts flying off in showers of sparks. Conversation had died between the fighters, only their shouts remained as they hurtled toward each other. Yet Kaiba was sure he couldn't tear his eyes away if he tried. The fight ended in a draw, awarding two points to each side. But it was enough to push Reiji and Iori into sixteenth place.

"And that's how you do it!" Jounouchi pumped both fists in the air.

Kaiba's hands shook as he forced himself to sit back and take deep breaths.

-x-x-x-

They had two days before the finals started. It was, as they say, the calm before the storm.


	11. Shock Tactics

_11: Shock Tactics_

Kaiba's door swung open and slammed shut with a bang. There was only one person with keys to his room, who came and went without as much as a by-your-leave.

"We are not going to hang around our hotel rooms all day," Jounouchi reached over and powered down Kaiba's laptop screen.

He swiveled around to face Jounouchi and coolly asked, "We're not?"

"Hell no. We have two days before the finals, and it's a fucking nice day outside."

Jounouchi wasn't wearing his work uniform— that was the first warning sign. After almost ten days of seeing nothing but the PPSE stadium and their hotel rooms, he was bound to get cagey. As Jounouchi maneuvered around his chair, it gave Kaiba a brief moment to admire the man's denim-clad ass. The moment was cut short when Jounouchi tore open the window curtains. Kaiba hissed and turned away, muttered a string of curses under his breath. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight encroaching on his room.

"We're going to get some vitamin D," Jounouchi declared before dragging him from his chair.

They fought for a while. They usually did when Jounouchi insisted on trying to force something for Kaiba's "own good." He eventually yielded after Jounouchi threatened to strip him. A beat of hesitation hung between them afterwards, Jounouchi's eyes widening as his sluggish brain finally processed what he'd just said. With steady hands and eyes that never strayed from Jounouchi's face, Kaiba unbuttoned his pajama top and peeled one sleeve off.

"For Christ's sake, no one wants to see you naked, you pervert," Jounouchi yelped, threw his hands over his eyes, and spun around to face the other way; but not before Kaiba caught the tide of red rising in his cheeks.

He smirked and went to change.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba pulled the bill of the baseball cap lower over his face— the hat's crown proudly bore logo for the "10th Gunpla Battle World Championships." Jounouchi had bought it from a souvenir stand for 3500 yen after another argument about remaining incognito in public. The shopping center was too close to the stadium. And with no other tournament activities scheduled for the day, it was also swarming with Gunpla fans.

So far, no one looked twice at him.

Jounouchi immediately gravitated toward the local hobby store. Kaiba caught him by the sleeve and pointed through the shop window. Inside, Reiji and his silver-haired friend from the other night were getting a hands-on demonstration on building Gunplas. Their teacher, a brown-haired man, leaned forward to point out something on Reiji's unfinished Gunpla.

Jounouchi tensed and tore himself away from the door. "Maybe we'll come later. Yuugi's waiting for us."

Kaiba stuck close to Jounouchi as they traveled through the mall. He tensed a few times, ready to grab Jounouchi's hand and run, whenever a shopper seemed to pay him a little too much attention. Once, Jounouchi looked over, rolled his eyes, and mouthed "relax." Kaiba pulled the hat lower over his face.

When they arrived at the cafe, Yuugi was already seated at a table for four inside. He waved as they approached and bounced like a boy half his age would. "It's good to see you, Jounouchi-kun, Kaiba-kun."

Jounouchi swooped in for an easy hug. "How's the old fort holding down?" he asked after pulling back.

Kaiba took the seat opposite Yuugi, giving a silent nod of acknowledgment as he sat down.

"Same old, same old. Everyone's really excited about the progress you and Kaiba-kun have been making. I heard that the rest of the Works Team went out to celebrate last night." Yuugi looked over at Kaiba with amusement shining in his eyes— his gaze then lingered on Kaiba's hat.

He rolled his eyes, silently daring Yuugi to say something. Yuugi wisely kept his mouth shut.

Jounouchi pouted. "No fair, why'd no one call us?"

"You were still on-duty last night," Kaiba reminded him. He, on the other hand, was glad to not to have endure another nomikai so soon after the last one. No doubt there would be another more extravagant one after he won the tournament itself.

Jounouchi dropped into the seat next to him and stuck out his tongue. "Party pooper."

The conversation quickly moved away from work. Well, Yuugi and Jounouchi chatted enough for all three of them— Kaiba was content to sit back, enjoy his hot coffee, and interject with the occasional comment. Their table was next to the cafe's window, offering an unobstructed view of the rest of the shopping center. He spotted several other finalists and former competitors enjoying their day, but there were also families with children of all ages. He watched a group of teenage boys chase each other past their window, and wondered where Mokuba was at the moment. Kaiba hadn't heard from his little brother since the email saying he'd arrived in Shizuoka on the very first day of the tournament. He tried to call several times since then, but it went straight to voicemail each time.

"Hey Kaiba, what's with the long face?" Jounouchi's weight was a solid comfort suddenly draped against his shoulder, and his voice quiet and concerned.

Yuugi stared at them from across the table, probably waiting for Kaiba to shake off Jounouchi. He didn't. Whatever physical intimacy Jounouchi could throw at him now paled in comparison to the full-body hug he received after the qualifiers. While he wasn't ready to initiate contact first, he was prepared to accept these little moments between them.

Jounouchi's phone rang, playing a melody that Kaiba vaguely recalled as the opening theme of a Gundam anime series— he wasn't sure which one though. Kaiba's side grew cold and bereft when Jounouchi pulled away to answer his call. He angled the screen away, but not before Kaiba caught a glimpse of the caller ID: _Allan Adams_.

The chair scraped across the floor as he stood. "Sorry, guys, I gotta take this. This is Jounouchi," he paused to listen to the voice on the other end. Whatever was being said spurred him to draw away from the table with a frown darkened his features. "Don't panic, I saw him at..."

The rest of the sentence was lost as Jounouchi swiftly moved toward the exit, leaving Kaiba and Yuugi alone. Kaiba's gaze trailed after Jounouchi, who was continuing his conversation outside the cafe while pacing back and forth; he seemed more annoyed than distressed. He returned his attention to Yuugi, who had been watching him this whole time. He wondered what Yuugi saw between him and Jounouchi— if their chemistry was as sickeningly obvious to him as it was to Kaiba. Part of Kaiba balked at the idea of being that exposed. But as one of his oldest acquaintances, Yuugi was allowed more leeway than most people.

"If you have something to say, spit it out," Kaiba sighed.

"I'm glad you're continuing to get along with Jounouchi-kun. It's good for you to have friends your own age." Yuugi chuckled into his cup.

He rolled his eyes. Yuugi spoke like there was a thirty years difference between them, rather than three.

"I suppose I need to thank you for introducing me to a competent builder for once," he drawled. Not only had Yuugi introduced him to Gunpla battle and started him on the road to who he was today, but now Jounouchi too. These were not debts Kaiba would be able to repay in one lifetime.

"Jounouchi-kun can be very persistent when he puts his mind to it. He bugged me for days before I finally introduced you two. Given the differences in your personalities, I had some doubts at first."

"Wait, Jounouchi insisted that you introduced us to each other?" His pulse was pounding in his ear. When they first met, Jounouchi acted like he couldn't care one way or another about what Kaiba thought of him. Yet he was apparently the one to have begged Yuugi into introducing them.

Yuugi nodded slowly. "Jounouchi-kun has been trying to get on the Works Team since the day you were chosen as Meijin. But I suppose the administration thought he didn't have enough experience. He even had Adams-san lobbying for his inclusion. In the end, he probably figured it'd be easier to go around the red tape and approach you directly."

Kaiba scowled. "He was rude. He didn't make a good first impression."

He didn't understand how Jounouchi's brain worked— if it worked at all— sometimes.

"Maybe he thought that was the only way to get your attention. It worked, didn't it?"

"You make him sound almost Machiavellian." Kaiba wanted to laugh, but these new revelations weighed heavily on him. He knew they were important, but he didn't have enough context to figure out why. "But why was he so set on joining the team?"

Yuugi shrugged. "I'm not sure; all Jounouchi-kun would tell me was he needed to be on the Works Team no matter what. But Jounouchi-kun is more ambitious than most people give him credit for. You wouldn't put up with him otherwise, Kaiba-kun."

-x-x-x-

Kaiba's fingers and toes drummed against his elbow and the floor in a staccato rhythm of impatience. They said "goodbye" to Yuugi almost five minutes ago, but Jounouchi and he still chatted away. A minute later, Jounouchi caught his eye and smiled apologetically. Kaiba gave him another two minutes.

After a nod toward Yuugi, he drifted away from them, glancing into the other storefronts. No one paid him any attention; his own scowling face staring back from the store windows.

"We can have dinner together," a familiar voice said from nearby.

Kaiba turned his head and spotted Reiji over his right shoulder. He was standing with several others, including Adams of all people.

"We should really get going…" Adams hemmed and hawed, glancing between the younger teens and the other man at his side.

Kaiba shifted toward his right. If Jounouchi wasn't going to entertain him, he would look for it elsewhere. Because even if no one else recognized Kaiba, Reiji must. He flinched— a weight suddenly clamped around his wrist, holding him in place. The heat seeping into his skin was telling. "Jounouchi—" he growled with a put-down on the tip of his tongue.

"Where ya going?" Jounouchi blurted out his question before his lips fell into a stern line.

Yuugi was a spot of maroon and blue before he disappeared between groups of shoppers.

"You didn't have to stop on my account."

"You're grumpy, I get it, but ya shouldn't, ya know, wander off," Jounouchi's eyes darted to a distant spot over Kaiba's shoulder before returning to his face. Jounouchi then cracked a smile and added, "I might hafta file a lost child report with the security office if you do. C'mon, I need to hit the hobby store before it closes."

They earned several long stares as Jounouchi bodily dragged him away. Kaiba glared at the gawkers until they finally looked away.

-x-x-x-

_Nii-sama, let's meet up and celebrate you going to the finals!_

The message arrived early the next morning. Kaiba scrambled out of bed and replied with one asking where Mokuba wanted to meet.

_By the statue at the park entrance near the stadium. See you in 30 minutes?_

He responded with an affirmative and got ready for the day. He was dressed and shaven in 15 minutes, before donning yesterday's baseball cap just in case. He hesitated for a moment before grabbing Jounouchi's room key and letting himself into the room next door. Through the darkness, Kaiba heard soft snores emanating from the swathed bundle on top of the mattress. One of Jounouchi's bare legs sticking out from under the blankets twitched.

He checked the time. He had ten minutes before he was due to meet Mokuba, which was nowhere near enough time to drag Jounouchi out of bed and stuff him into presentable clothing. Kaiba smiled to himself as he gently closed the door behind him. He would have to bring Mokuba by to meet Jounouchi later— his brother and Jounouchi were bound to get along with one another.

Unfortunately, many of the fighters who didn't make it past the qualifiers were also checking out at the time. The elevator came up to the top floor several times, already full of people and luggage trying to reach the lobby. He wasted several minutes waiting like this before opting to take the stairs. He jogged the rest of the way to the park, which was thankfully close by. It was early enough that the streets were mostly empty.

Someone was already waiting by the statue. Kaiba didn't have a good view from his line of approach, but the figure was too tall to be Mokuba— unless he went through a very extreme growth spurt since they last saw each other in December. The man also wore a suit, which Mokuba wouldn't be caught dead in. Something about the posture, familiar and smug, set off alarm bells inside Kaiba's head though. On the battle system's HUD, this moment would have manifested itself as a proximity alert. He cautiously moved around one side of the statue to come face to face with his brother.

It just wasn't the brother he expected.

"What the hell are you doing here? Where's Mokuba?" he demanded, dimly realizing that was already more words said to this man than in the last year combined. Reflexively, he curled both hands into fists and stepped up, forcibly extruding every ounce of malice he could muster.

"Hello, Seto," Noa smiled with white porcelain teeth and a cold light that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Father would like a word with you."

The limo's tires screeched as it pulled up to the curb behind him.


	12. Covert Operations

This chapter is rated M (the E kicks in in a few more chapters). Plot meets a bit of porn and a lot of emotions.

* * *

_12: Covert Operations_

Kaiba should have walked away.

Fifteen minutes ago, he climbed into the limo at Noa's insistence. The car's interior was dim, lit only by the soft panel lighting and the glow of Noa's phone screen. Despite the ample leg room, Kaiba couldn't put enough distance between him and Noa. He knew this meeting was a trap, and it couldn't have been a more obvious one unless neon lights were pointing to it and declaring it so.

He sat ramrod straight across from his older brother, searching for the smallest hint as to what he was thinking. Noa was nearly ten years his senior and they shared very little in common besides the same father. Noa also never hid the fact that he regarded Seto and Mokuba, both sons of Gozaburo's second wife, as somewhat lesser.

"Still running around as Father's attack dog then?" Kaiba held his head high, baring his teeth in an opening salvo.

Noa's expression darkened. "I am exactly as a filial and obedient son should be, and you are an ungrateful brat. Your little rebellious streak may have been cute when you were fourteen, but it's time to grow up and fall into line."

He sneered. "Is that why Father is reaching out after a year of the silent treatment? Am I embarrassing him and his company?"

Granted, the lack of communication was a two-way street. When he left home, it was with the full intention of never speaking to his father again. As for embarrassing Gozaburo, Kaiba could only hope that was true. The only thing better would be to hit his father's pride where it'd hurt most: in his purse.

"As always, you think too highly of yourself, Seto." Noa looked and spoke as if he pitied Kaiba. He lifted his phone again, signaling the end of their conversation.

Kaiba swallowed the urge to take a swing at him— a big black and blue bruise could only improve Noa's smug face. He directed his attention out the tinted windows, where the streets of Shizuoka began teeming with life. The limo passed by the fighter's hotel. He had been too focused on Noa to notice before, but they were driving in circles.

"What is the meaning of this? You said Father wanted to talk," he demanded.

Without looking up from his phone's screen, Noa said stoically, "Father has an appointment he needs to finish up first. He will call us when he's ready."

Bile clawed its way up Kaiba's throat. "He couldn't be bothered to come in—"

A new voice cut in from his left. "I have business in Hamburg, boy. It takes priority."

Stiffening further, he turned his head slowly to face the holographic screen now projected over the limo's partition. Kaiba Gozaburo stared back through the video connection, radiating disapproval and judgment from behind a work desk. Rain rolled off the windows behind Gozaburo in torrential waves. A flash of lightning arced across the dark and gray sky, briefly illuminating the jutting church spires in the background.

"Good evening, Father," Noa greeted automatically like a mindless doll.

Gozaburo grunted in response. He shuffled some papers around as he spoke briskly and authoritatively, "I have another meeting in ten minutes, so I'm going to get straight to the point, boy—"

The first mistake was letting Gozaburo take the lead. That was as good as ceding control. "No, I'm not coming back," Kaiba spat.

He no longer needed the Kaiba name, and he didn't want anything else of his father's. He was proud of his accomplishments over the past few months, and he wasn't going to let anyone— least of all, this dinosaur from a forsaken age— take that away from him.

Without missing a beat or looking up, Gozaburo replied, "That doesn't matter. Listen to me carefully, boy, I will only say this once. You will tell me how Plavsky particles are manufactured."

"You're insane if you think I'm going to do any such thing," Kaiba hissed at the screen.

"These Plavsky particles are wasted on the likes of unambitious idiots like Mashita. Of all the potential military applications, Mashita uses them to play war games," Gozaburo screwed his face in disgust. "Seto, you will learn their secrets and deliver them to the Kaiba Corporation. You will do this for your family."

Kaiba didn't know why the universe was pulling this sick prank, but he wasn't going to stick around to watch it play out. He laughed, hollow and brittle, then he addressed the impassive Noa flatly, "Stop the car. I've heard enough."

"Don't be stubborn, little brother. You should listen to Father, it's in your best interest."

No, continuing to maintain as much distance as possible from Noa and Gozaburo was in his best interest. It had been working well for all the parties involved. Kaiba had his own life— a life he was becoming content with. Gozaburo, and by extension Noa, had no right to barge into that life and make demands of him. He reached for the door handle. He would jump out of the moving vehicle if necessary.

"Call him, call Mokuba." Gozaburo's words may have originated from thousands of miles away, but they hit as solidly as if he had swung a beefy fist from across the limo.

Kaiba dialed his little brother, willing his hands to not shake and his heart to stop racing. Ringing filled the limo's interior, emanating from Noa's side and resonating off the dark leather. Noa pulled out a second phone from an inner pocket. It was blue, and a 00 Qan[T] sticker was plastered across the back. Noa lifted it to his mouth and said, "Hello."

Through the speakers, the echoes of Noa's "hello" rumbled in Kaiba's ears. Rage coursed through his veins. "You used Mokuba to draw me out, like cowards. What did you do to him?"

Noa calmly cut the call and replaced Mokuba's cellphone into his pocket. "We caught Mokuba at the train station here in Shizuoka ten days ago. He was quite excited to see you play in the tournament, but he was supposed to come home to Domino for summer vacation. As punishment, he has been sent to London with Daimon, who has been given strict orders to monitor all of Mokuba's communications. Whether or not he returns to Japan in the fall will be entirely up to you, Seto."

He glared back at his father, forever distant. "You would use one son to blackmail another son," he gritted out through gnashing teeth. "Leave Mokuba out of this, if you're trying to punish me for leaving—"

Gozaburo looked down his nose at him. "Don't presume to know what my intentions are, boy. You're exactly where I want you to be. As Meijin Kawaguchi, you are in a prime position to carry out this assignment."

Kaiba clenched his hands; his knuckles turning ghostly white and his blunt nails digging hard enough into his palm to almost break skin. "You're lying. You always hated that I chose Gunpla battles over the company. Now you think you can beg favors from me by acting you as if you're omniscient."

He was all too familiar with Gozaburo's mind games. He was Meijin Kawaguchi today because of his own choices— his alone and no one else's.

He needed to be able to believe that.

"No, I tolerated your hobby," Gozaburo sneered. "Did you really think I wouldn't have been able to stop you if I wanted to? You may have deluded yourself into thinking otherwise, but I have absolute control of your life, Seto. I allowed you to think your pathetic little acts of rebellion had meaning and effect. You would either become the next Meijin or not waste your time on these toys at all. I taught my sons to settle for nothing short of the very best."

Desperation tore at his insides. He struggled to rein in his emotions, but everything was spiraling out of his control too quickly. "You're wasting your time. I don't know anything about the Plavsky particles."

It was also the truth.

"Maybe not now, but you can be resourceful, Seto. You are their prized fighter."

"I am not your pawn!" Kaiba screamed as his control snapped. His chest heaved as he struggled to draw in enough air to fill his lungs.

The phone in his hand buzzed— Jounouchi was calling. Something close to panic wormed its way into his heart.

"Maybe not a pawn, more like my rook," Gozaburo smiled condescendingly. He leaned in toward the camera and his image towered over them in the limo like a monstrous giant. "You are nothing without me, Seto. I made you who you are today. _I_ paved the path to your becoming Meijin Kawaguchi. You would never have made it this far if _my_ agents hadn't eliminated the obstacles before you. So take care not to become an obstacle yourself, boy."

Kaiba felt the blood drain from his face, and the phone fell as still as the grave.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba didn't know how he made it back to the hotel, back to the sixth floor, and back to his room door. His mind buzzed. The static droning threatened to drown out every other thought in his head. The meeting had been a power play from the very start— a reminder that Kaiba had never been in control of the things that really mattered. He left the limo numb, resurfacing in a world entirely blind and deaf to his predicament. Yes, he hurt, but it was buried under layers and layers of seething outrage and hate.

Something should have been different, but the rest of the world refused to acknowledge the injustices committed against him.

He once told Jounouchi that was no such thing as a "fair fight" in the real world, one of the few lessons he had taken to heart from his father. Gozaburo would now apply that lesson ruthlessly. He needed to regain control. He needed to prove he was more than Gozaburo's pawn. He glanced briefly at Jounouchi's door before wrenching the handle on his.

The curtains were thrown open. From the doorway, he spotted Jounouchi lounging in one of the chairs with a manga in hand. He stepped inside the threshold and let the door fall shut behind him. His feet took him as far as the center of the room, but he was unable to take the last few steps to reach Jounouchi.

Jounouchi started— his face melting into a smile as soon as he saw Kaiba. "Hey, where've you been? I tried calling you a while ago."

Kaiba stood frozen, a storm of emotions raging inside him. He became aware he was still breathing heavily. Jounouchi's expression slowly morphed into heartfelt concern.

"You shouldn't be here," he choked out at last.

As he stood, Jounouchi dropped his book in the chair and moved swiftly to close the gap between them. Kaiba wanted to shrink back, but his body was paralyzed by _everything_.

"Hey, Kaiba, you can talk to me," Jounouchi said softly and reached up to gently touch his left cheek. "Tell me what's wrong."

The contact shook him from his stupor, and it burned like a brand on his skin. "Why do you care?" The words came out harsher than he intended, but his body was drawn as taut as a bowstring.

Jounouchi's face twisted suddenly with hurt and rejection. "Of course, I care. Because I'm your builder. I'm your friend!"

The buzzing intensified as red crept in from the edge of his vision. Something snapped.

One hand found purchase in Jounouchi's hair, while the other landed on his waist. He didn't pull Jounouchi toward him, but threw his body against him. Kaiba yanked his head back and meshed their mouths together with urgency, causing Jounouchi to gasp in pain and their teeth to knock. It sent an unpleasant sensation rattling through Kaiba's jaw and down his spine, but he persisted. Whether because of the angle or basic incompatibility, their lips glanced over each other.

The very idea only infuriated Kaiba further. He pressed harder, trying to force a fit. The sudden taste of iron caused his resolve to waver. A hard blow to his stomach drove what air remained from his lungs and loosened his grip on Jounouchi. Jounouchi roughly shove him away and Kaiba doubled over, now acutely aware of a wet and stinging sensation welling on his lower lip. He lifted a shaky hand to his mouth and pressed two fingers to the bleeding cut.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Jounouchi's words tasted raw.

Kaiba slowly lifted his head. The motion took some effort— his head was swimming, his senses dulled by the mix of pain and rage. Jounouchi stared wide-eyed, like he didn't recognize Kaiba anymore. Kaiba gave a low and breathy laugh. It was fitting— he didn't recognize himself either.

Something else was shining— smoldering in Jounouchi's eyes. He wore an achingly familiar expression— one that Kaiba has seen in the mirror before. The world snapped back into focus, overly bright and almost blinding. His nerve-endings sang, shrill and needy. And Kaiba felt more in that one moment than the rest of his lifetime combined. He would be reckless and free— he would become everything that he was taught not to be.

He straightened, rolling his neck to ease the tension squeezing around his temples. "Friend, you said friend, but it's not that simple between you and me, is it?"

He stalked up to Jounouchi, pleased when Jounouchi barely flinched and didn't draw back. "Don't lie to me, Jounouchi. You have done nothing but insinuate yourself into every nook and cranny of my life since the day we met. You've made me dependent on you, you've pushed and demanded that I give you every piece of myself. You don't want something as simple as friendship, because people don't look at their friends with that expression." Kaiba finished with a hiss and a sharp jab to Jounouchi's chest.

Up close, Jounouchi's eyes widened and dilated like a deer caught in headlights. His breath raced in and out of his open mouth. "I don't— You're wrong."

Fear was as a foreign sight in Jounouchi as vindictiveness.

He lifted one hand to Jounouchi's cheek, cupping it gently. "Then tell me why you wanted to be my builder so badly. Tell me why you stayed after I insulted and demeaned you. Don't disappoint me now, Jounouchi. Don't be a coward."

Accusing him of being a coward was a low blow, but it elicited the exact reaction Kaiba hoped for. Jounouchi reached up and knocked off the baseball cap, grabbed the back of Kaiba's neck, and yanked him forward.

Kaiba had been wrong. He wasn't pulled into Jounouchi's orbit; they were caught up in each other's gravity. Now they were colliding, lips crashing together in a cacophony of moans. With Jounouchi's guidance, their second kiss managed to be more lips than teeth or nose. Perhaps that was the benefit of experience.

He growled, stuffed a hand under Jounouchi's t-shirt while the other winded in the shirt fabric, and stroked the abdominal muscles quivering under his fingertips. Jounouchi arched up, gasping— the sound quickly swallowed by Kaiba before it could escape from between them. Kaiba rubbed the exposed skin harder, wanting to wring every bit of noise from Jounouchi. Hot: everything about Jounouchi was fire hot— a stark contrast to Kaiba's icy numbness. Kaiba pressed closer, thrilled to his core when Jounouchi answer in kind. Better to burn alive than live this farce of a half-life.

Kissing Jounouchi was more than a bit like battling. Unlike Jounouchi's battle skills, his experience shone through as he stirred Kaiba's desire for more. They traded blows with their tongues, conquering and ceding territory along their lips with a nudge here and grasping fingers there. Were the situation not so desperate seeming, Kaiba might even be tempted to make a joke about beam sabers. Talking or joking meant breathing though, and Kaiba was sure he was quite over the idea now. It was too bad fire smothered without oxygen.

Jounouchi pulled away, but kept both hands planted around Kaiba's neck. His eyes half-lidded by desire. "Kai—"

Catching Jounouchi's lower lip in his teeth, he muttered against the flesh, "Seto, call me Seto."

It didn't pay to be a Kaiba. Unless you were Gozaburo himself, a Kaiba was nothing more than a pawn in some mad tyrant's game of real-life chess. Kaibas did not love, they did not cherish, and they did not live. They also didn't get to keep people like Jounouchi Katsuya at their sides. If possible, he would incinerate his cursed name with the heat rising between them.

"Seto," Jounouchi smiled a silly, love-struck grin, and Kaiba's too-small heart tightened for too many reasons.

Kaiba didn't want to answer the questions still shining in Jounouchi's eyes. All he wanted was to drown in this moment and forget the rest. He kissed Jounouchi again, hard and bruising, and pulled him flush against his body.

They tumbled onto one of the hotel beds, fighting and clawing at each other's clothing. He pushed Jounouchi's shirt up to expose the rest of his golden skin. Jounouchi retaliated by ripping the buttons loose on his shirt, and surged forward to attack Kaiba's collarbone. The feel of teeth scraping across his skin sent a jolt of mind-dizzying lust straight to Kaiba's groin. With a grunt of triumph, Kaiba freed Jounouchi's growing erection from his pants, wrapped a hand around the shaft, and stroked.

"Fuck," Jounouchi threw his head back, banging against the headboard and shaking the entire bed-frame. "Fuck."

Giddy and high, Kaiba smirked. He tightened his fist and stroked harder and faster. Jounouchi's entire body arched off the mattress that time. Jounouchi grabbed the loosened lapels of Kaiba's shirt and dragged him down for another breath-stealing kiss. As their tongues tasted and caressed each other, Jounouchi wrenched open his fly and jammed a reciprocating hand down Kaiba's boxers to palm his rock-hard cock.

They panted into each other's mouth; both racing to bring the other to completion first. Sweat rolled down Kaiba's back in heavy drops. He couldn't tear his eyes from Jounouchi's flushed and tortured face. He did this. He was making Jounouchi feel this way.

"Jounouchi," he choked. Kaiba was lost, and he was burning up in Jounouchi's fire.

Suddenly Jounouchi twisted his grip, and the orgasm hit Kaiba like a freight train. He spilled himself into Jounouchi's hand with a moan and a shudder.

"Fuck, I'm gonna come too. Seto. Seto."

Jounouchi came with a shout and a frantic thrust of his hips, pulsing between Kaiba's fingers and painting a strip of come across his chest.

-x-x-x-

The room reeked of sex, and the mess drying across his stomach and ruined shirt felt tacky. Kaiba pried open heavy-laden eyelids and tracked the sun's journey across the sky based on the light reflected across his ceiling. It was late afternoon. Jounouchi was a comfortable weight pillowed against one shoulder, snoring ever so softly. But Kaiba's arm was numb, having fallen asleep sometime while they napped. Carefully, he shifted Jounouchi's weight— circulation returned as pins and needles stabbing up the length of his arm.

Jounouchi burrowed closer as he stirred. He blinked owlishly without lifting his head from Kaiba's shoulder. "What time is it?"

He hadn't the energy to reach for his phone or turn his head to see the clock. "Around 3 or 4, we slept for a while," Kaiba's voice cracked from disuse.

Jounouchi snickered. "You sound like you swallowed a frog."

He reached over and swatted Jounouchi's ass in retaliation.

"Don't do that, you bastard!" Jounouchi squawked, before propping himself up on one arm. He studied Kaiba's face with renewed worry. "Are you okay? This morning—"

In one swift motion, he rolled on top of Jounouchi, bringing them precariously close to the edge of the cramped bed. He kissed Jounouchi eagerly, attempting to drive the half-voiced question from his lips and mind. The tension slowly eased as Jounouchi returned the kiss and wound his arms around Kaiba's waist. He knew he wouldn't be able to fend off Jounouchi's curiosity forever, but he'd buy whatever time he could.

The clock was ticking.


	13. Jounouchi's Betrayal

_13: Jounouchi's Betrayal_

A invasive gaze bore into Kaiba's back, digging its way through layers of flesh and muscle, before spearing him through the heart. From the helm of the battle system, he turned and looked out into the crowd. Front row and dead center behind Kaiba's side of the battlefield, Noa lingered like an unwelcome haunting.

Kaiba clenched his hands and glared out into the stands. Noa's continued presence at the finals was a forgone conclusion. Someone needed to keep an eye on Gozaburo's investment, and Noa was always eager to please their father.

Someone reached for his sleeve. He jerked and threw the hand off. It was Jounouchi.

"Sorry," Jounouchi furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "I didn't mean to surprise you."

"It's fine."

Noa's gaze continued to weigh oppressively on his shoulders.

A chime filled the stadium and a professional sounding female announcer spoke, "Match 2 of the first round of the 10th World Gunpla Battle Championship is about to begin with PPSE's special entry, Meijin Kawaguchi, versus Justin Fox of Canada."

His and Jounouchi's fingers lingered when the Legilis was passed from builder to fighter.

The battle system gave an audible hum as it booted up. "Beginning Plavsky particle dispersal. Field 4: Mountain. Please set your GP Base."

The holographic cockpit did little to shield him from Noa's prying eyes. Just because he couldn't see Noa didn't mean that his brother wasn't still able to watch him. The cockpit walls were only opaque on the inside, and Kaiba derived little comfort from the fact.

"Please set your Gunpla."

The Legilis' eyes flashed green and Kaiba gripped the control orbs tight. "Meijin Kawaguchi, Imperial Legilis, prepare yourself!"

Kaiba touched down on the north side of the mountain, turning his scanner toward the west— the direction Justin Fox would most likely approach from. Fox piloted a souped-up version of the Virgo III with additional armaments and a backpack. Output-wise though, Kaiba's Legilis could easily outgun it. Several moments later, Fox charged in from the sky, firing his mega beam cannon.

Kaiba dodged and returned fire. Their Gunplas traded weapon fire for a few more rounds, but neither of them were able to land a hit on the other. Fox made good use of his planet defensors and the terrain to block Kaiba's attacks.

Kaiba quickly lost his patience with the prolonged shootout. He needed to defeat Fox as quickly as possible. Then he could hunt down his real target, Noa, and send his scrambling back to Gozaburo with a black eye. Kaiba refused to let his father and brother openly intimidate him through the rest of their tournament. Neither was he going to allow Fox to continue to plink away from his defensible position.

Fox retreated around a bend and under a rocky overhang. There was no easy way around it. The fastest route was to follow the Virgo in.

Jounouchi boggled at him over the video comms. "What the hell are you doing? Are you seriously charging in blind?"

He ignored the builder and charged at the Virgo, using his bits to form a shield against the shots fired his way. He thrusted his right beam saber and impaled the Virgo through its lower torso. The Virgo tried for a point-blank shot, but Kaiba's bits jammed up the cannon barrel and the backfire blew the entire arm off.

"Watch out for the planet defensors!" Jounouchi warned.

In his haste, Kaiba had forgotten that Fox's defensors weren't for protection alone. The defensors aligned into pairs around Kaiba, energy coursing between the two plates as a concentrated beam powerful enough to cut through metal. Kaiba cursed and jerked his controls frantically. He managed to avoid a death blow, but two of the defensors' attack caught him in the Legilis' left leg and hacked the limb clean off. Without giving Fox another chance to strike back, Kaiba used the momentum of the falling Legilis to strike with his second beam saber and a blast from the tail cannon.

The Virgo went up in flames.

"Winner: Meijin Kawaguchi the 4th," declared the battle computer's readout.

When he turned around, Noa was nowhere in sight.

-x-x-x-

After stowing away the damaged Legilis in its case, Jounouchi grabbed him by the wrist and pushed him into one of the green rooms for the fighters. Kaiba could have broken his grip, but not without hurting Jounouchi in the process. And he didn't want to hurt Jounouchi...

Jounouchi punched a series of commands into the door console. Planting himself between Kaiba and the locked door, he stood firm and said, "Tell me what's wrong."

"Get out of my way, Jounouchi," Kaiba's voice almost cracked under the strain of the day.

"Make me then," Jounouchi lifted his chin and challenged too gently.

He folded his arms across his chest and spoke as blandly as he could manage, "If is about the battle just now, I miscalculated. I regret damaging the Legilis to that extent, but I have faith you can repair it before the next match."

Frustration crept in along the edge of Jounouchi's expression, but he couldn't keep it out of his voice or words. "Cut the crap, Kaiba. What happened out there was a mistake— an amateur one you shouldn't have made in a million years. You forgot about the defensors' fucking attack capabilities. I've been really patient, but you've been weird since yesterday."

They didn't talk about what happened yesterday. After round two, where they lazily explored each other's bodies, they slept and woke in the same bed with only a half-an-hour before the competition bracket was to be announced. They had gotten cleaned and dressed in their separate rooms before going over to the stadium together. Jounouchi watched him in a less than surreptitiously manner as they waited with the other finalists. Kaiba, being the coward he now constantly felt like, couldn't bring himself to do more than briefly hold Jounouchi's hand in that moment where everyone was distracted by the bracket initially posting. Though it was a small gesture, it had sufficiently soothed Jounouchi's nerves.

Until now. Now Jounouchi was pushing and prodding in that insistent, but not subtle enough, way. But Kaiba's patience was long shot to hell. He was mad at himself. He was mad at the entire damn world. Noa's presence at the match was like rubbing salt in an open wound. Stripped of his defenses, Kaiba stung everywhere.

He pushed Jounouchi against the door, digging fingers into his broad shoulders and keeping him pinned in place. He waited for Jounouchi to tense or push him away; neither of which happened. "Just because we— yesterday happened doesn't you're privy to know everything, Jounouchi," Kaiba whispered harshly.

Hurt flashed through Jounouchi's eyes and it was like a stab in Kaiba's chest. "Maybe not, but I care about you. I— I like you a lot and I hate seeing you in pain."

"I'm fine," he insisted. For one, he had no intention of dragging Jounouchi into his world.

"Liar. This has something to do with your older brother, doesn't it?"

Kaiba froze. Jounouchi couldn't possibly know. As far as Jounouchi should know, Mokuba was Kaiba's only brother. "What are you talking about?"

For a second, something like guilt flashed across the other man's face. "I saw him in the stands today, Kaiba Noa. He's your big brother, right?"

He tightened his grip on Jounouchi's shoulders. "You knew I was _that_ Kaiba Seto."

He should have never told Jounouchi his real name. As the second son of the family, he'd managed to stay out of the limelight and remained dissociated from his family's company in all but name. It was what afforded him the anonymity to enter the world of Gunpla Battles.

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. The Kaiba Corporation's only the other most famous company in Japan. Talk to me," Jounouchi pleaded. "I can help with whatever's going on."

Jounouchi knew; Jounouchi knew exactly who he was. There was no reason to hide it anymore. It was almost a relief, because Kaiba had always wondered what would happen (to them) if the truth came to light. Two hands came to rest on Kaiba's back, light as a butterfly's touch. He shivered at the feel of Jounouchi's breath playing across his cheek and neck. They stayed like that for several moments, locked in a pseudo-embrace.

Kaiba wrestled with himself. Asking for help was shameful, and wanting it was nothing short of weakness.

"Seto."

His defenses had fallen. They were obliterated long before Noa even showed up. "It's my father, he wants me to do something."

He closed his eyes and began recounting his meeting from yesterday. Jounouchi's palpable concern quickly morphed into anger when Kaiba mentioned how Noa and Gozaburo used Mokuba as bait for their trap. But nothing compared to the torrential waves of fury rolling off him after Kaiba finally told him what Gozaburo wanted.

"He wants the Plavsky particles to make real weapons," Jounouchi spat. "And he's trying to blackmail you into doing his dirty work for him."

Jounouchi really was smarter than most people gave credit him for. He grasp the implications of the request and saw through Gozaburo's endgame without it explained first. By the end, he vibrated with poorly-concealed outage, "You're his son and he's holding your little brother hostage. How can he do that to his own kids?"

"It's all in a day's work for Kaiba Gozaburo," Kaiba intoned bitterly. "My father will do anything to turn a profit. If he's to be believed, he's been planning this for a long time. I wouldn't be surprised if he had something to do with my predecessor's death."

He gave a hollow and brittle laugh. Try as might to deny it, he was at least partly responsible for another man's death. In the end, the previous Meijin was nothing more than collateral damage in the quest to further the Kaiba family's glory.

Jounouchi pushed him back at arm's length and insisted with great urgency, "This isn't your fault. You didn't kill _him_."

"Of course not," Kaiba snapped. "Even I'm not vain enough to think that the former Meijin might still live if not for my interest in Gunpla. In that same vein, Gozaburo will find a way to advance his plans with or without my cooperation. He has never lacked for agents to do his dirty work."

Unless Kaiba stopped him somehow.

Jounouchi tightened his grip on his elbows momentarily before he abruptly released Kaiba and went to unlock the door. "I need to make a call. Go change into some less, y'know, Meijin, there's someone I want you to meet."

-x-x-x-

After Jounouchi left, it occurred to Kaiba that Jounouchi might report everything to Chairman Mashita. Such a scenario would likely signal the end of his reign as Meijin. It was impossible to predict how Gozaburo might react of Kaiba was stripped of his title. His concerns were proven unfounded when a somber Jounouchi turned up alone some time later to pick him up.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

Jounouchi wouldn't look him in the eye when he replied, "Somewhere close by."

Kaiba should have recognized the writing on the wall in that moment, but he was blinded by his trust.

They arrived at one of the other hotels within the stadium's immediate vicinity. It wasn't far from the players' village, but its guests tended to be exclusively spectators. Which is why alarm bells started sounding inside Kaiba's head when Allan Adams, dressed in casual clothes, popped open the door that Jounouchi had knocked on.

"Chief," Jounouchi greeted solemnly.

Adams nodded and undid the door chain. He ushered them in with Kaiba entering first and Jounouchi bringing up the rear. Adams then cast several suspicious glances down the hall, as if checking to make sure they weren't followed, before immediately redoing every lock on the door.

The window curtains were thrown open, offering a view of the PPSE stadium as the sun started setting behind its domed roof. The day's slanted and ebbing light illuminated the dim room in an eerie orange glow. Kaiba took note of the two full-sized beds, the television on the bureau, the work table, and two wingback chairs— all standard hotel furnishing. Adams moved past them and took up guard by the window with a stern expression and arms folded over his chest. Another man, several years older than Jounouchi and Kaiba, rose from his seat. His delicate heart-shaped face, almost feminine at first glance, was framed by wispy brown hair, but his green eyes were alert and calculating.

"Kaiba-kun, it's good to finally meet you." The even tone and polite manner of speech was designed to mask the tempered steel underneath. "I've heard so much about you."

The alarm bells in his head grew louder, reaching dire volumes that threatened to drown out the rest of his thoughts. Kaiba shifted his gaze from Adams standing like a sentry to his own builder, now silent and unwilling to meet his eyes, guarding the only exit. A sense of deja vu crept over Kaiba. It felt a trap— not unlike the situation where Noa previously cornered him. His hackles rose.

"Please allow me to introduce myself," the man continued. "My name is Yuuki Tatsuya."

Kaiba didn't recognize the name, but he had met this man once before. His lips curled in a hard sneer. "It's you, Meijin Kawaguchi the third."


	14. Meijin Kawaguchi the Third

_14: Meijin Kawaguchi the Third_

The universe had a cruel and offensive sense of humor. If it possessed even a shred of decency, it would give Kaiba a pulmonary embolism and end the farce. The universe spared him no such mercy though, just Yuuki Tatsuya's concerned face.

"Perhaps you'd permit me to speak with Kaiba-kun in private for a bit?" Yuuki simultaneously directed his question to the two blond builders located at opposite ends of the room.

"Tatsuya, are you sure about this?" Adams came up behind Yuuki and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It's fine, Allan, I'm perfectly safe with Kaiba-kun." Yuuki smiled gently. Reaching up, he covered Adams' hand with his own and squeezed. They stared at each other for a beat, before Adams nodded and moved away to join Jounouchi by the door.

Then turning his charm on Jounouchi, Yuuki said, "Thank you for your hard work, Jounouchi-kun."

"It's nothing," Jounouchi muttered, ducking his head but not quickly enough to hide the hero worship on his face. His reaction caused Kaiba's blood to run cold.

The two engineers left, and Kaiba was alone with the supposedly dead man he had "replaced."

"Please have a seat, Kaiba-kun," Yuuki gestured to the two chairs, but Kaiba chose to remain standing. "You must have many questions right now. I will do my best to answer them all."

The reality was that Kaiba had too many questions for a lifetime, but the first one was the most obvious one. "How are you alive?"

"I faked my death." No one could accuse Yuuki Tatsuya of being anything other than straightforward.

Kaiba clenched his jaw. "_Why_ would you do that?"

"Last year, there were two attempts on my life. In September, someone broke into my home. I was able to fight them off and they fled, but their intention was clearly to kill, not rob me. Two months later, someone cut the brakes in my car. Allan was with me when it spun out of control," Yuuki's eyes went flat, returning all of the Meijin's focus and intensity back to his face. "We were lucky to walk away from that crash. Afterwards, it seemed prudent to plan for a possible third attempt."

Kaiba filled in the rest of the blanks. To this day, the building that used to house PPSE's Technical Sciences division was considered off-limits. The administration feared there might be residual radiation or fallout from the explosion last year. In the after incident report obtained from Yuugi, none of PPSE's scientists could reliably predict how the Plavsky particles would react with the environment after escaping containment. Not that any of the staff wanted to go anywhere near the place where Meijin Kawaguchi the Third supposedly perished without leaving a trace behind.

"The lab accident; that's why no body was recovered." Kaiba was almost impressed by how far Yuuki had gone to fake his death.

Yuuki frowned. "Please don't misunderstand, Kaiba-kun, I was not responsible for the accident. That was attempt number three. I chose to take advantage of the opportunity that it provided to investigate who wanted me dead."

"You thought someone at PPSE was trying to kill you."

"At first," Yuuki nodded grimly. "I had my suspicions. Only someone with certain means could have rigged the experimental system to overload like it did."

Chairman Mashita never seemed too broken up over Meijin Kawaguchi III's death. In fact, he avoided talking about him at all costs. Kaiba had never trusted the slimy executive. "Do you think Mashita's involved?"

A set of conflicting expressions flashed across the former Meijin's face before he wrangled his mask back on. "The chairman and I do not get along and probably never will. We disagree fundamentally on the nature of Gunpla Battles. But to answer your question, I don't believe Chairman Mashita is the one who wanted to eliminate me. Doing so would be bad for his business."

"Then who?" Kaiba snapped, tired of dancing around the subject. "You clearly have your suspicions."

Yuuki watched him carefully now, with eyebrows furrowed in concentration and maybe even concern. "My investigation initially took me from Shizuoka to Tokyo, but then finally to Domino City— your hometown. The final piece of the puzzle was the Kaiba Corporation's acquisition of Higuchi Holdings. Were you aware that your father has a preexisting business relationship with PPSE?"

Truthfully, Kaiba had no idea. He did his best to steer clear of all of the Kaiba Corporation's business dealing. The question filled him with dread though. Nothing good ever came out of the family business— only death and destruction.

Yuuki continued, "Although your father, the CEO, likes to distance the company from its roots nowadays, the Kaiba Corporation remains the leader in the field of arms manufacture and it possesses some of the most sophisticated data about modern warfare. It sells that weapon data to PPSE, who uses it to program simulation parameters for the battle system. Additionally, the Kaiba Corporation owns nine of the ten subsidiaries that manufacture a number of the state-of-the-art components used to build the battle system, like processors, motherboards, and projection panels. It's been a lucrative relationship for both parties involved."

"You must have some kind of evidence, otherwise we wouldn't be talking now," Kaiba spat through gritted teeth.

He wanted to know, but a traitorous part of him also didn't want to know. Up until now, he had been able to write off his father's claim to meddling as part of his usual hot air. Evidence would confirm the extent to which his father's machinations had paved the way to Kaiba being Meijin Kawaguchi IV.

Yuuki hesitated before offering the file from the desk, which Kaiba tore from his grip. Yuuki and the rest of the room fell into a backdrop of white noise as Kaiba flipped through the documents. Higuchi Holdings had been on the edge of insolvency before Gozaburo bought it up, which made no sense because it was the exact type of poor business decision that he derided. Rather than generating profit, Higuchi was still losing money to this day. It was a lost cause. Then Kaiba flipped to the next page, and the patent for a familiar high-yield battery— the same, newly developed battery that had powered the experimental battle system which overloaded— stopped him dead. The situation resolved itself with sickening clarity. Taken together, it was far from damning to the casual observer.

But Kaiba knew his father. Gozaburo would never settle for an equal partnership if there was room for him to conquer and annex someone else's territory. The death of Meijin Kawaguchi III would have certainly been good for Gozaburo's business. Especially if this aforementioned Meijin was to replaced by Gozaburo's own son...

_I will destroy you as easily as I did your predecessor._

He clenched his fist and the question fell from his parched lips like a croak. "How did you find this?"

Kaiba Gozaburo was many things, but sloppy was not one of them.

Yuuki's brow drew low and tight; he was the very picture of contrition. "I have my resources too, Kaiba-kun. You may have trouble believing—"

He cut him off with a growl— unable to withstand pity from the former Meijin. Kaiba dropped the file on the table before them and stuffed his unsteady hands in his pockets. "Spare me, I know perfectly well what my father is capable of. It's why I chose Gunpla battling over following in his footsteps. So I'm not the least shocked about his potential involvement in the assassination attempts against you. I will spell it out now in case you've misunderstand, I took no part in his deeds. I walked away and cut ties with him and the Kaiba Corporation more than a year ago."

"We know now you're not involved with your father's schemes, but we had to consider the possibility when your name showed up on the list of my possible replacements. Nevertheless, I owe you an apology, Kaiba-kun," Yuuki bowed from his waist, formal and stiff. This and his general manners suggested he was originally from a family of good-standing. "Jounouchi-kun says you are a good man, and I believe him."

Kaiba's insides went numb, cold as a winter day in Hokkaido. Like Yuuki, Jounouchi had known who he was all along— probably since the very beginning. Before Jounouchi became a part of Kaiba's team, he was probably investigating the former Meijin's attempted murder. "Jounouchi and Adams, they were both working for you this entire time," he found the words surprisingly difficult to spit out.

Yuuki's eyes widened in alarm. "No, Allan is my partner, and we started this together. But there was so much ground for the two of us to cover. Allan was already overwhelmed with the investigation at PPSE, and I was busy following up leads on the outside. Allan was the one to reach out to Jounouchi-kun for help. Allan trusts your builder, and I chose to follow suit. Jounouchi-kun only wanted to help Allan and me uncover the truth."

Maybe Yuuki thought he was alleviating Kaiba's anxieties with his explanation, but it had exactly the opposite effect. It all made sense now: Jounouchi's eagerness to join the Works Team and Adams championing a newbie builder to essentially take his place. Adams had long resigned from the Works Team before Kaiba joined up. Yuugi did tell him that Jounouchi only tried to join the Works Team after Kaiba inherited the title of Meijin Kawaguchi.

Kaiba would have even done the same thing— he would have placed someone close-by to keep an eye on "him" too. It was _the _sensible thing to do, but still...

His mind whirled about with the various implications of what he'd learned today. Kaiba had one last question now. "Why are you telling me this now? The more people that know you're still alive, the more you're at risk of exposure."

Yuuki Tatsuya didn't owe him any explanation or apology. He was doing the best given his extreme circumstances— even if Kaiba hated him for doing so. He did what he needed to survive— which Kaiba understood more than he wanted to.

"Because Jounouchi-kun asked me to," Concern softened the curve of Yuuki's face. "He told me what your father has asked of you. He saw that you were beginning to suspect all the same thing we were, and he wanted to spare you the guilt of my so-called death. I agreed— Allan didn't, but I overruled him. It's not fair to make you carry that weight in addition to your father's."

But Kaiba was the fool in this scenario. He'd let Jounouchi tear down his walls and get under his skin. First, he had been played by Gozaburo and manipulated into a position meant to benefit the bastard and his company. And now Jounouchi...

Kaiba needed to sort out his thoughts in private, not under the scrutiny of his predecessor demanding that he accept and understand without reservation. He couldn't do that here or now. Maybe never. He turned away, baldly signaling his intent to leave. "Thank you for this enlightening conversation, but I think it's time for me to leave."

Yuuki sprang to his feet and caught Kaiba's upper arm in a gentle but firm grasp. Kaiba tried to shake him off, but he tightened his grip. Yuuki forced Kaiba to meet his steady gaze as he spoke, "I was once like you, Kaiba-kun. Certain things were expected of me because of who I was and who my family was. Gunpla offered me freedom from those expectations, so giving up my name seemed a fair price. Maybe you can find a way without needing to do the same. Do not hesitate to contact me if you ever need help."

When Yuuki released him, Kaiba flew out of the room like a bat out of hell. Adams, who was standing guard outside, jumped. Jounouchi was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Jounouchi?" he turned on Adams and demanded.

Adams looked at him warily before answering, "He said he was going back first to work on repairs."

He then opened his mouth as if to say more, but Kaiba stalked away. If he was going to listen to pathetic excuses, he wanted to hear them straight from Jounouchi's lying mouth.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba checked Jounouchi's room first, which was empty. The Legilis and its case were also gone, which meant Jounouchi was actually repairing the Gunpla. The next logical place to check was at the stadium, where there were a fleet of workshops made available to fighters and builders in the competition.

Every door was unlocked except for one. He used his PPSE credentials to bypass the lock.

Jounouchi's shoulders tensed as soon as Kaiba entered the room. The Legilis lay in pieces and Jounouchi was in the middle of sandpapering a blade piece. Kaiba stood back, waiting for Jounouchi to put down his work first. The air between them soured, like wine turning to vinegar. Eventually, Jounouchi slumped in defeat, pushed his chair away from the desk, and stood to face him.

"You're not gonna be satisfied until we fight this one out, are you?" Jounouchi's question was too quiet and tired-sounding.

Logic and emotion were deadlocked in heated battle from the moment he left Yuuki Tasuya behind, but seeing Jounouchi now— emotion won out. His fury came roaring back with a dragon's ferocity. He marched forward, buried one hand in Jounouchi's shirt, and thrust him back. Jounouchi winced when he collided with the edge of the table. The desk rattled, but at least none of its contents fell to the floor. Other than a hint of wariness, Jounouchi seemed resigned. It was infuriating, and Kaiba wondered if he had more to hide. Jounouchi should be begging and screaming for Kaiba's forgiveness. He should be groveling for what he did.

"You were spying on me," he hissed and slammed Jounouchi's hip into the table again for emphasis. This time, both of the Legilis' arms shook free and bounced off the floor with hollow thunks.

Jounouchi gulped and diverted his gaze, tensing under Kaiba's fingers. He was anticipating pain and trying to mount a preemptive defense. The realization sent Kaiba and his rage spiraling higher. Maybe it was because his traitorous heart wanted Jounouchi to at least try to justify his actions. His stupid, fucking treacherous heart needed to hear the excuses. Why couldn't Jounouchi give him that much?

"Say. Something. You bastard," Kaiba growled. He hated the pleading note strumming through his voice.

Jounouchi made a weak attempt to knock Kaiba's hand away and failed. "What's there to say? You already think you got everything figured out."

"Then tell me how I'm wrong. Tell me why you really joined the Works Team."

Jounouchi fixed his gaze on Kaiba's face and plainly admitted, "Yes, I first joined the Works Team to keep an eye on you."

In response, Kaiba sank his claws deeper.

Jounouchi paused, taking several breaths before continuing. The rest of his explanation rushed out like a waterfall. "But I never lied to you except to keep Yuuki-san's secret. I became your friend because I like you, Seto. I stayed on the team because I wanted to help you win. I believe in you. I really believe you have the ability to win this tournament. I believe that you're a good man that is doing the best he can."

Their eyes met for several seconds. Jounouchi reached up to touch Kaiba's forearm and Kaiba could feel a crack forming in his defenses. He forced himself to break the eye contact.

Jounouchi continued, more bold and steady before."I would give _anything_ to change why we met. Even though I wanted to tell you about Yuuki-san and the Chief, it's their lives on the line. And if your head wasn't so stuck up your own ass right now, you'd admit it was for everyone's safety, including yours. You can't convince me for one second that you wouldn't do the same exact thing in my place."

Would Kaiba have done the same in Jounouchi's shoes? Most likely yes. But that was because Kaiba knew manipulation; Gozaburo and Noa schooled him in subterfuge early on. Jounouchi shouldn't be capable of a Machiavellian streak. He was always too honest, too stupid to be anything but himself. Jounouchi was supposed to be everything that Kaiba was not. Were they actually one and the same, like vipers in a pit?

But whether the reason or motivation, the fact remained. "No, you used me, Jounouchi. You took advantage of my feelings to get close to me. You seduced me while reporting my every move to your master. Don't try to deny it."

Jounouchi convulsed with a sharp whistling exhale, as if Kaiba'd gutted him with his accusations. Cruelty was in his blood, and Kaiba was beyond rationality at this point. He would twist that knife— cut Jounouchi open to discover what black poison he hid inside.

(It was how Kaiba was taught: target the weak-point and apply pressure until the enemy begged for mercy.)

"What would your precious Yuuki-san think of you whoring yourself out for his cause?" he sneered.

Kaiba felt some measure of satisfaction when Jounouchi's impassivity finally cracked. It didn't necessarily feel good, but it was something. Apparently, nothing broke Jounouchi like impugning his honor.

The outrage sparked in Jounouchi's eyes before it overtook the rest of his face. It was Kaiba's only warning before a fist smashed into his jaw. The pain stunned him, giving Jounouchi the chance to weasel out of his grip and throw Kaiba off. Copper exploded across his taste buds, and he hurt everywhere— not only in his face, but he ached in his chest. He turned his head and spat out the mouthful of blood.

"Fuck! Fuck you, Kaiba, you don't get to put that all on me! You kissed me first. You pushed me into bed. Fuck you if you actually think I'd toy with your heart— anyone's heart like that— Shit, I lo—" Jounouchi stopped abruptly, gasping for air and blinking away the wetness stinging at the corner of his eyes. "I liked you for a long time, Seto. Maybe not since the beginning, but close enough. Why do you think I never said or did anything before now? But then yesterday, _you_ came onto me. You came and fucking kissed me like you couldn't live without me. And I— Goddammit it!"

Jounouchi was shaking, balling both hands pressed tightly to his sides. His face was a wretched collage of agony and yearning.

Kaiba tried to convince himself that he was unmoved by the display. But his faithless heart tightened, while the next breath stuttered inside his lungs. "Jounouchi—"

"Get out!" the command came out as a keening yowl. "I have work to do. I'm not gonna listen to you twist my feelings into something so fucking ugly." Jounouchi slumped back against the worktable, knees weak and shaking.

Kaiba left, heart dragging at his feet.


	15. Call to Arms

_15: Call to Arms_

Without a destination in mind, Kaiba walked until his feet hurt and his anger burned itself out. His jaw throbbed the entire time; a constant reminder of his failures. His mind kept replaying Jounouchi's words and expressions like a broken record. After night fell, he found himself on a park bench, wondering how he'd lost the last several hours. He should go back to his hotel room, but he was exhausted and hollowed out.

People gave him and his bench a wide breadth. They probably thought he was some kind of delinquent given the large bruise blooming on his face. Which was exactly why he took notice when a pair of knee-high leather boots stopped directly in the line of his downcast sight. He looked up into Kujaku Mai's surprised face and groaned. She stared at him, blinking owlishly several times, before turning on her heel and briskly walking away.

She obviously recognized him, but thankfully, she didn't feel the need to talk to him. But for a brief second, he wondered what she saw on his face that made her lips purse like that. It didn't matter; Kaiba wanted to be left alone. He turned his gaze heavenward, focusing on the few stars he could make out across the dark canvas.

Sometime later, the hurried clicking of heels dislodged Kaiba from his tangled thoughts. With a "go away" on the tip of his tongue, he lifted his head at the exact same second that Kujaku pressed one hand to his aching jaw. His face stung. At first, he thought she'd slapped him. But when she drew back her hand, the cool but stinging sensation remained. Then, he finally noticed the adhesive patch sticking to his face. She deposited a box of Salonpas pain relief patches on his lap before flopping down next to him.

Kaiba tried to muster up some annoyance or anger at her intrusion, but he was tapped out after the events of the last 48 hours. If that meant he never had to feel anything again, that might not be such a raw deal. He slid over to put more distance between them. She would get bored and move on if he ignored her.

She didn't though. "He's got a mean right hook, doesn't he?"

Kaiba winced at the sound of her voice. "I never said Jounouchi did this," he croaked, harsh and gravelly.

Triumphant, she flashed him a wry grin. "You just did."

Fuck, he must be really out of it to fall for that clichéd trick. Kaiba turned his head away, refusing to look at her smug face anymore.

Unfortunately, Kujaku was as good at taking a hint as Jounouchi was. She continued in an amused tone, "It's pretty obvious. Jounouchi and you have been attached at the hip since the competition started, but now you're alone and brooding. Ergo, you two must have fought. Don't be shy, tell your big sis Mai all about it."

Kaiba finally felt a faint spark of irritation, but it was doused as quickly as it ignited. He bit his lower lip and kept his eyes fixed on the pavement.

Kujaku sighed heavily. "Come on, I can help. I've known Jounouchi since he was fifteen, so I've already seen him at his worst. God, he was such a little shit back then. I wanted to knock him around a few times at first too."

Kaiba snorted. It was impossible to visualize the image she was painting of the young Jounouchi. Then again, he'd discovered that he didn't know Jounouchi as well as he thought. He knitted his lips together and waited for her to leave.

After eyeing his bruise some more, she added, "Jounouchi wasn't always this calm and level-headed you know today."

What Kujaku didn't know was that Kaiba had pushed Jounouchi to his— their breaking point. In the end, they retaliated against one another in the ways they knew best: Kaiba with his psychology and Jounouchi with his fist.

"I never knew him to begin with," he murmured to himself, but he suspected Kujaku overheard.

She pursed her lips in disapproval. "You doubt Jounouchi. You shouldn't though."

Finally, he spat past clenched teeth. "Go away, Kujaku. You have no idea what you're talking about."

She silenced him with a hard look. "True, I don't know what your current relationship with Jounouchi is like, but I do know Jounouchi. And I can see how important you are to him. I can see how much he cares about you and helping you succeed in this tournament. So whatever you two are fighting about, he's feeling at least as heartbroken as you look right now."

"I don't..." The objection died on his lips. There was no denying what she said. Heartbroken— it was the perfect description. That was why this hurt so fucking much, because he was heads over heels for Jounouchi. It was why Kaiba kept digging for evidence to the contrary.

His heart sank with the realization, and Kujaku saw it.

Her expression softened. "Know that when Jounouchi loves, he does so wholeheartedly. Whether they're his friends, family, or lovers, he loves them completely. He's incapable of doing anything by halves."

_Shit, I lo—_ that's what Jounouchi started to say while fighting back tears. But then Kaiba also remembered the way that Jounouchi had looked at the former Meijin before he left the room. There had been loyalty, with an edge of protectiveness, wrapped in his expression. From the start, Jounouchi had been one of Yuuki Tatsuya's men.

"And what about Meijin Kawaguchi the third? What was Jounouchi's relationship with him?"

For a second, Kujaku was startled, but sadness soon overtook her features. "The last Meijin touched many lives before his passing, including Jounouchi's. I think it'd be best if you heard the story from Jounouchi himself. It wouldn't be right for me to tell you without his permission. I guarantee you he'll tell you if you ask him. He won't lie or sugarcoat his past any more than I would."

"You can't know that," he started to argue. "He doesn't—"

She reached over and patted his knee lightly. The gentle gesture shocked him more than any punch. "I do know. Known him since he was fifteen, remember? Jounouchi may feel that he owes a debt to the third, and he's not wrong to feel that way. Jounouchi and I would both be in a very different place otherwise. But you can't let the ghost of a dead man get in your way. The two of you will work it out. For one thing, Jounouchi doesn't give up that easily."

Kaiba pulled at his hair, frustration bubbling up his throat. "It's not that simple!"

"I never said it would be. But that's because the things that are worth it are never easy," she said sagely.

-x-x-x-

Kaiba didn't have to dig very far to find his answer. Before going legitimate several years ago, Kujaku Mai had been a fighter in the underground Gunpla scene. The discovery gave him some pause.

Underground battles were organized crime's way of profiting off the Gunpla craze. Law-abiding citizens steered clear of the unregulated fight clubs where people were been known to gamble away their entire life savings, or where gangs fights often broke out between rival fighters. While the police and PPSE did what they could to crack down on the illicit fights and gambling, the criminal elements of the world were just as clever at circumventing the efforts to shut them down.

Snooping through databases he technically shouldn't have access to told him that Kujaku had been brought in for questioning by law enforcement on several occasions, but never formally charged. Underground fighters were notoriously hard to convict unless they committed some other violent crime first.

Given all the hints that Kujaku had dropped about their shared past, it wasn't surprising to find Jounouchi in those same databases. The records were four or more years old, and their sizes suggested more substantial reading inside than Kujakus'. Each of them was also sealed by court order three and a half years ago. With a few well placed calls and the weight of his father's name, Kaiba could easily have them all unsealed and Jounouchi's past laid bare before him.

Then Jounouchi couldn't lie even if he wanted to.

Kujaku's words burned themselves into him: "Jounouchi doesn't give up that easily."

He left the files untouched. Like all of Kaiba's other problems, they would still be there tomorrow.

-x-x-x-

After one look at Jounouchi's haggard face and the dark spots around his eyes, Kaiba couldn't hold onto his waning anger. Jounouchi's uniform was wrinkled, and his hair hung wild yet limp. But that wasn't to say that Kaiba's appearance compared favorably— Jounouchi's "mean right hook" left a bruise barely concealed by the cosmetics he purchased earlier, and the sunglasses served double duty in hiding his bloodshot eyes.

The fact that Jounouchi even showed up for the match seemed like a miracle. But like Kaiba himself, Jounouchi was a professional. Whatever personal problems that lay between them, they were part of a larger team effort.

Kaiba focused on the case clutched between Jounouchi's white knuckles. "Is everything ready?"

Jounouchi nodded stiffly.

Kaiba drew his body straight and headed into the arena; Jounouchi followed several steps behind him. Even without looking back at the stands, Kaiba knew that Noa remained a fixture. Instead, he chose to focus on the opponents immediately before him.

Julio and Mario Renato waited at the other end of the battle system— this time, a custom GM Sniper K9 already resting on the console. The twin brothers had climbed and clawed their way up the ranks with shrewdness and an exacting brutality that would make Gozaburo proud. They sneered simultaneously as Kaiba and Jounouchi approached.

"Oi, your support looks like he's about to collapse where he stands," Julio, the younger of the two and the fighter of the team, jeered.

Kaiba glanced back. No, Jounouchi didn't look his best. But he came of his own free will, which meant he intended to see this battle through to the best of his abilities. "We could still beat you with one hand tied behind our backs," he replied coldly.

The brothers' identical glares deepened. Mario responded, "Let's see what you say after we knock you off your high horse, Meijin-san." Though his tone contained not a hint of the respect implied by the honorific.

Jounouchi carefully avoided touching him when he handed over the Legilis. Kaiba swallowed the lump in his throat. He needed to focus on the battle ahead.

"We will now start the first match of the quarterfinals for the world tournament," the announcer stated evenly.

Kaiba set the Legilis down on the console and waited for the world to reform. Heavy rainfall soaking through the concrete urban graveyard that was their battleground. Overall visibility was poor, which could work to either his advantage or disadvantage. A map popped up on his HUD, highlighting three ruined skyscrapers in the next sector over. He waited for Jounouchi's video comm to appear next.

It didn't, but Jounouchi's quiet voice flooded the cockpit, "Their GM Sniper functions best as a long-range unit. These are three of the most likely spots they'll go for."

Kaiba agreed with the assessment. The urban environment played perfectly to the GM's strong suit. If he allowed them get set up in a sniper's nest, it would be an uphill battle.

"What ya gonna do, Kawaguchi?" Jounouchi asked.

Just Kawaguchi— not Kaiba and certainly not Seto. Kaiba's chest ached. There was one clear course of action to take. "I'll smoke them out."

The Legilis took to the air, unleashing its full fury on his targets' foundations. The three buildings were probably already structurally compromised. His beam attacks brought all three crumbling to the ground in seconds without needing to resort to max output. Plumes of dust rose up, providing ideal cover to ambush Kaiba's Legilis. In fact, he was counting on it.

An energy beam shot toward him from the east, but ultimately blocked by a shield of energy bits that Kaiba generated. His main camera zoomed in on the GM Sniper fleeing from the ruins of one of the collapsed skyscraper.

Kaiba fell into hot pursuit. They chased each other through several city blocks, exchanging fire that hit the environment more often than each other. Wait, didn't the GM start the fight with a backpack?

Then the Legilis' left foot snagged on something.

"It's a tripwire!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

The block behind them went up in flames, and only the Legilis' speed and bits saved it from meeting the same fate as the demolished street. Kaiba cursed. When did the Renato brothers have time to set a trap like that? As they cleared the smoke from the explosion, the GM Sniper came into view. Kaiba swerved to avoid the weapon fire sailing straight toward him.

"Tch," he sneered and aimed his beam rifle at the GM standing in the open.

Suddenly, more shots rained from above— one of which made a direct hit on the Legilis' rifle. Kaiba dropped the weapon before it could explode and take the Legilis' arm with it.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Kaiba demanded as he retreated their Gunpla behind a dilapidated storefront.

Jounouchi patched another camera feed through to Kaiba's HUD. It showed a self-propelled artillery unit moving into position on another roof opposite Kaiba. So that's where the GM's backpack went.

"You need to move," Jounouchi urged before the artillery fired another round in their direction.

Kaiba maneuvered the Legilis around to the other side of the building, drawing fire from the GM this time. A blast chipped at the anti-beam coating on the Legilis' shield binder, but another direct hit or two would entirely compromise the protective coating's integrity. The tides was turning on them. Kaiba was down one weapon and up a second enemy unit. He needed to take down the artillery first. But where did it go?

Thankfully, Jounouchi pulled up another map with an indicator. "Double back two blocks and go around the next corner on your left, you can ditch the GM and cut off the artillery. I think it's setting another trap."

With a burst of speed, the Legilis glided around the corner that Jounouchi had pointed out. The artillery's barrel swung 360 degrees to fire on the Legilis. Kaiba fired his beam vulcans first, shooting off each of the unit's legs and knocking it off-balance. Then he finished it off by slicing it open with his beam saber.

"You did it," Jounouchi muttered excitedly.

Kaiba allowed himself the luxury of a small smile.

The GM reappeared at the end of the block, flanking the Legilis from behind. It fired on Kaiba with its sniper rifle, and he barely called up another wave of bits to shield the Legilis in time. The bits exploded like fireworks when they came in contact with the beam's particles. The next rifle shot cut across the row of windows above the Legilis, bringing a wall of debris down on his head. Kaiba pushed the engines to full throttle, hurtling his machine out of the path of the falling concrete and towards the GM.

Panels on the Legilis' shoulders slid open to reveal a diffusion beam cannon on each side. Kaiba fired both cannons down the length of the street. Julio cursed up a storm when one attack took out the GM's main sniper weapon, but the GM itself moved quickly enough to avoid the twin beams. With that, Kaiba should have shut down its long-ranged capabilities and turned the battle back in his favor. Close combat was Kaiba's forte.

He swung both beam sabers at the GM when it evaded the attack with a burst of speed. The GM swung behind the Legilis and threw a rattling punch that dented the Legilis' frame.

"What the fuck? Its speed just jumped. Does it have a Trans-Am system?" Jounouchi asked.

The GM's head camera had turned from green to red.

"No," Kaiba replied. "It's the EXAM system."

Mario Renato's voice crackled over the voice comms. "Save your trump card till the end- it's basic tactics."

The GM ran circles around the Legilis, poking holes with its beam sabers. Kaiba struggled to match its speed. He managed to deflect two blows from the saber with his shield before a final swipe cut the shield in two. The two halves fell away and exploded with a boom. Shit, there went his ability to generate new bits. But the shield's destruction gave him the opportunity to feint left and he chopped off the GM's left hand, sending it and one of the beam sabers flying.

Their blades clashed in a shower of sparks and crackling energy.

"You don't deserve the title of Meijin," Julio taunted over the voice comms; his cruel laughter ringing in Kaiba's ears.

Gozaburo had a very similar laugh...

Jounouchi fired back before Kaiba could. "Shut up, you don't know what you're talking about. We're going to hand you your asses on a silver platter," he muttered fervently.

"We'll prove it to the world through this war of ours, a real battle that peace-spoiled boys like you can't handle."

Kaiba's blood boiled. He wasn't going to let this nobody mock him. How dare the Renato brothers look down on him? If they wanted war, then he would give them war. He activated the Legilis' Trans-Am system. Plavsky particles saturated the Legilis' frame, imbuing it with a pinkish-red glow.

The GM turned tail and ran. Kaiba automatically gave chase. The GM had a head start, and it was fast on the EXAM system. But the Legilis' Trans-Am was faster and Kaiba caught up to the fleeing machine in seconds. As he barreled down it and aimed for the killing blow, the GM suddenly pivoted to face the Legilis.

"Gotcha," Julio mocked him.

Too late, Kaiba spotted the three metal devices set into the nearby wall and pavement. The air sizzled, a pulse of something rippled through the air, and finally the Legilis shut down. Kaiba jerked the control orbs, but the machine refused to respond. The walls of his cockpit shifted to red. No power was getting through to any of the limbs or joints. "What happened? Jounouchi!"

Jounouchi's voice was frantic when he reported, "Nothing's responding. Something shut us down, just like an EMP."

"Get us back online, Jounouchi!"

The GM loomed over the disabled Legilis. With a brutal kick, it sent the Legilis sprawling on its back.

Mario gloated. "They're bombs that create an reverse GN Field. I made them especially for you— to show you the folly of relying on a machine with only beam capabilities."

The GM slowly thrust its beam saber through the Legilis' chest plate.

Kaiba couldn't breathe. It felt like someone was stabbing him through his lungs. He was helpless, once again snared in another war-crazed maniac's trap. He couldn't lose like this! But that was the reality before him.

"Dammit, Kaiba, move your ass," Jounouchi snapped, fatigue coloring his voice more heavily than before.

The cockpit lights returned to blue, and the Legilis' fingers twitched. The GM continued to torture the prone Gunpla beneath it.

"It's no use. We have nothing left to attack with," Kaiba muttered. The Legilis' PP storage was empty, drained by the reverse GN field. Even worse, the Legilis had been in Trans-Am when the particles drained, meaning they would be operating at reduced capacity even if the machine came back online. EXAM system or not, the GM was going to slaughter them.

Jounouchi's face suddenly appeared front and center on the HUD. Kaiba risked a glance at the video feed, and his heart fluttered like a hummingbird at the sight. Jounouchi leaned in, exhausted and bearing his weight against the holographic console. But his eyes and expression were dauntless and unrelenting. "We can still do this, Seto. Use weapon slot seven."

The use of his given name jolted Kaiba out of his shock. "We don't have—"

"We do. Just trust me!"

Kaiba scrolled through the weapons menu. The console displayed a new armament— one final ray of hope. He selected it. A thin GN blade deployed from inside the Legilis' left arm into its hand. Kaiba turned the Legilis' wrist and slashed up at the GM's arm and beam saber pinning him to the ground. Now missing its right arm, the GM drew back, stumbling in surprise. The Legilis' joints creaked as it climbed back onto its feet.

"No, we can't lose like this!" Julio howled.

The GM tried to punch with its left arm sans hand. Kaiba paid it no mind as the blow landed. It was the GM's death throes. Kaiba roared, moving automatically through kendo stances to hack at the GM. The GN blade cut through the other machine's frame like it was butter.

"Battle ended," the system declared as the Legilis decapitated the GM. The audience cheered and applauded.

Every trembling exhale shook Kaiba's body. He won. His mind was racing, still processing the turn of events. He went to Jounouchi and asked, "How? The Legilis didn't have a sword yesterday."

They stood as close as humanly possible without actually touching, but close enough for Kaiba to feel Jounouchi's body heat radiating off in waves.

"That's because I added it last night." Jounouchi almost smiled, which was more than Kaiba had any right to expect— even if the expression was broken and pained.

More needed to be said between them, but this was a start. "I— Thank you, Jounouchi."

Jounouchi must have worked through the night— the night after they fought and after Kaiba accused him of terrible things out of anger and spite. Kujaku was right; Jounouchi didn't give up easily.

From the stands, a familiar splash of green caught his attention. It was Noa standing to exit the stadium. He glared at his older brother, who bowed his head in acknowledgment from a distance.

Then again, Kaiba wasn't the sort of man to give up either.


	16. I build, destroy, and build again

_16: I build, destroy, and build again_

Kaibas didn't apologize.

Saying sorry implied you'd done, said, or were just plain wrong in general. It was admitting weakness. Kaibas didn't need apologies, because they were somehow supposed to bend any moral and universal truths through cunning use of wit and judicious bribery. Gozaburo often said that every man had their price.

Did Jounouchi have a price? If he did, Kaiba suspected it wasn't in any known currency.

Their match had ended minutes ago with the Renato brothers marching off the stage in a huff. As Jounouchi and he took their leave, walking away side-by-side this time, Kujaku emerged to fight the second and final match of the day. She threw Jounouchi a smile and clapped a firm hand over Kaiba's shoulder as she passed them. Now he and Jounouchi stood by the sideline as an expansive space battlefield materialized over the console.

But Kaiba was more concerned with keeping one eye on Jounouchi than watching the battle between Kujaku and Ireland's Patrick Mannequin. Jounouchi sagged heavily against the wall like he no longer had the energy to stand on his own. At the very least, he needed a nap.

A hushed murmur spread through the audience, momentarily drawing Kaiba's attention back to the battle. Kujaku met Mannequin's attack for attack. She and Jounouchi shared one quality in abundance: passion for the sport. How wrong Kaiba had been when he predicted she would never advance past the qualifiers.

He frowned to himself. Lately, he had cornered the market on being wrong, hence why he was even contemplating apologizing in the first place. Maybe he should get Jounouchi a card. Did they make greeting cards that said—

A weight sagged against Kaiba's shoulder, startling him. He looked down. Yes, that was definitely Jounouchi collapsing from exhaustion. Only Kaiba's quick reflexes saved the builder and the Legilis case from an intimate encounter with the floor. He grunted, bracing the extra weight with the help of the wall to his back. Jounouchi was heavier than he expected, but then again, given how he ate like his stomach was a black hole...

With both hands full now, Kaiba huffed in frustration and tried to blow a stray bang now falling over his eye. It stayed plastered between his face and the sunglasses. He glared down at the unresponsive burden in his arms and said with less disdain than usual, "You're an idiot for pushing yourself. But we wouldn't have won that last match without you."

Jounouchi slept on, dead to the world.

The crowd cheered, drawing Kaiba's attention back to the raised stage. A computer prompt and an announcer proclaimed Kujaku and her Jagd Doga as victorious.

Carefully, he lifted Jounouchi in a fireman's hold and started walking. In a matter of moments, the halls would be filled with spectators emptying out of the arena. Before that, he needed to take Jounouchi somewhere quiet so he could get some much needed rest.

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi snored.

Thankfully, it was nowhere near as loud as the first night they slept in the same room. It was almost a pleasant white noise in the background as Kaiba worked on the Legilis. The screen on the wall ran through commentaries and replays of the previous matches since the start of the finals. Kaiba looked up long enough to consider the partial bracket posted on the screen. Tomorrow's battles would decide who would move onto the semifinals along with him and Kujaku. Aila Jyrkiäinen remained undefeated thus far, and she was bound to be one of them. Between Nils Nielsen and the Reiji-Iori team though, Kaiba figured there was a fifty-fifty chance of either side advancing.

"Kaiba?" A quiet and dazed voice called from the sofa. "How'd I get here?"

"You literally fell asleep standing up. I carried you here."

Jounouchi groaned pathetically.

"Don't worry, no one saw us," Kaiba added as an afterthought.

Fabric rustled as Jounouchi shifted and sat up. Kaiba kept his eyes fixed on the table's surface, even though his hands had stilled the moment that Jounouchi woke up. An unspoken pressure pressed in around them, and Kaiba's composure almost cracked when he heard Jounouchi stand.

"Whatcha doing?" Jounouchi asked as he crept up behind him.

Kaiba forced his hands to move again, testing the joint's range of movement. "I figured I'd start on the repairs. The Renatos did a number on the Legilis."

Jounouchi pulled up a seat next to him. "Yeah, well, you paid them back in full and then some. Honestly, the damage's not that bad. It'll be good as new in no time." He tried to smile while reaching for the pin vice, but the motion was lethargic and his smile trembled.

Kaiba dropped the piece and slammed both hands on the tabletop. "Enough—"

Jounouchi froze, eyes widening in shock.

"—Stop pushing yourself."

"I'm not..." The protest trailed off when Kaiba pinned a glare on Jounouchi.

Kaiba tore off his sunglasses and threw them down on the table. He had forgotten he was still wearing them until he became all too aware of the tension centered around his temples. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he squeezed his eyes shut and struggled to calm his breathing. Bright spots danced behind his eyelids. He counted backwards from twenty, and eventually the strain ebbed.

When he opened his eyes again, Jounouchi was watching him with shadowed eyes and a full-face frown. He leaned forward in his seat, but not too closely, to examine Kaiba's bruise. The concealer Kaiba put on earlier must finally be wearing off.

"I shouldn't have hit you," Jounouchi grumbled darkly.

"I deserved it."

"No matter how big of an ass you were being, I shouldn't have done that. I swore I wouldn't—" Jounouchi cut himself off with a curse and pushed his chair away. He jumped to his feet and started pacing back and forth, but he took special care to maintain his distance from Kaiba. His fatigue continued to shine through in every dragging step and every sluggish swing of his arms.

"No need to be melodramatic about it. This is hardly the worst injury I've received," he scoffed. Kaiba had experienced his fair share of bruises, scrapes, and sprains over the years, courtesy of Gozaburo's tough love approach to teaching kendo and judo. Noa never went easy on him during their sparring either. Mokuba was the only Kaiba brother spared the brutal treatment.

"No, you don't fucking get it. I could have really hurt you!" Jounouchi suddenly pulled at his shaggy hair. It was unclear if the pain on his face was self-inflicted or the result of something else.

Discovering this new side of Jounouchi was alarming. The self-loathing was the worst part, because Jounouchi should have no reason to hate himself like that. Not when Kaiba had knowingly escalated the situation to goad a reaction out of him. Kaiba stood and walked toward him, who flinched and shrunk back. For every step that Kaiba took forward, Jounouchi took two back until he collided with the sofa.

"Sit down before you faint again," Kaiba ordered as he planted both hands on Jounouchi's shoulders and thrust him into the cushions. Jounouchi crumbled like a castle wall under catapult fire. "I'm fine. Stop overreacting. It's not as if you broke my jaw."

Jounouchi turned his troubled gaze away. He hugged himself, his blunt fingernails digging into the sleeves of his work uniform. "But I could have and it wouldn't be the first time. I've hurt people before."

Kaiba debated with himself before taking a seat on the sofa. He was careful to leave one whole cushion between them. "Was it due to your past involvement in the underground battle scene?"

Jounouchi tensed again and leaned away. "You know then."

"Kujaku hinted at it." Kaiba figured that he shouldn't mention the minor hacking he did to gain access to that information.

Jounouchi loosened his arms and resettled his hands into his lap. He wrung his fingers nervously before replying, "When I was younger, I ran with a rough crowd. I have a juvenile record."

"How rough?" Kaiba asked neutrally. He already had his suspicions though.

"I ran with one of the local gangs, okay?" Jounouchi huffed. "My old man used to bet on Gunpla battles. It was one of the reasons my mom left him. He lost like nobody's business, so he always owed money to somebody. Working for the people who owned his debt kept us afloat for a while."

Kaiba could already guess the outcome. Gambling addiction and gang activities rarely went hand-in-hand with happy endings. "Until it didn't anymore."

"I did things I'm not proud of, but at least it felt like I had a reason for it. Then my mom found out about what I was doing after my first arrest. She cut me off and kept me from seeing Shizuka because she thought I'd be a bad influence. She was probably right, but I was so angry and Dad kept going back and losing more and more money. Everything kinda spiraled out of control from there."

By this point, Jounouchi had a faraway look in his eyes. Then he blinked it away, looking around the workshop as if he couldn't believe he was really there. He sucked in a loud breath of air and spun to face Kaiba. Jounouchi's defiance returned in full force. "So I get why you acted the way you did yesterday. When shit keeps piling up on top of more shit like that, you lose your mind and lash out at whatever's close by. It doesn't make it okay, but I get it and I forgive you. I'm sorry I hit you, Kaiba."

The tightness inside Kaiba's chest unfurled. He licked his dry lips. His stubborn pride be damned, but it needed to be said now. "No, I owe you an apology. I was combative and hostile. You're not my enemy, Jounouchi. I should have never treated you like one."

"Guess we're both sorry about being an ass."

Jounouchi cracked a small but encouraging smile, and Kaiba felt himself respond in kind. It still hurt, but the pain dulled and the wound was scabbing over. Dare Kaiba say it, but he had hope that what they had could be mended.

"Will you tell me the rest of the story?" he asked. Jounouchi must have distanced himself from the gang at some point. Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to enter the Gunpla Academy or work for a prestigious company like PPSE.

Without hesitation, Jounouchi nodded and scooted closer to tell the rest of his tale.

-x-x-x-

"You broke into Allan Adams' home to steal his Gunplas?" Kaiba stared at Jounouchi in disbelief. His builder may not be the brightest person, but even this was a stretch for him.

The mood between them lightened over the course of Jounouchi's story. The content wasn't always happy or family-friendly, but Jounouchi was able to utilize hindsight to examine his past misdeeds. He was open and didn't make excuses for what he had done.

Jounouchi leaned back, his shoulder brushing firmly against Kaiba's. "What? Gunplas made by famous builders sell for tons on the black market, any underground fighter would have killed for one. They saw it as a golden ticket to victory. It wasn't like I could break into PPSE, you've seen our security, so I figured I'd try the next best thing. That was also the year that he and Yuuki-san won their first world championship. If I managed to get even one, it would have been enough to square away my old man's debt for a whole year."

At least until he went out and lost more money. But Kaiba chose to keep quiet and not point that out. Jounouchi must already be aware of that. Shaking his head, he nudged the story back onto its track. "I'm gathering from your tone that you failed."

"All the lights were off, so I was sure no one was home," Jounouchi protested.

Kaiba rolled his eyes. "Figures you'd be a shit thief. You can't even case your target properly. Adams caught you red-handed, didn't he?."

"Worse," Jounouchi winced. "Yuuki-san was actually with him, and I kinda walked in on them."

Kaiba wasn't sure he heard right. It almost sounded like Jounouchi was implying... "Excuse me?"

This time, Jounouchi went pink and gritted his teeth. "You heard me, Kaiba. I walked in on them doing it on the living room floor."

"You're telling me you didn't hear them?" It was probably not the detail he should be fixating on, but his brain was working hard to steer clear of the image of Adams and Yuuki mid-coitus.

"No! Shit! Did you really think I would have picked the lock if I knew what was on the other side?!" Jounouchi exclaimed indignantly.

Kaiba yelled back. "You were stupid enough to try and rob PPSE's chief engineer!"

Jounouchi buried his head in his hands and groaned. "Which makes me a thief, not some fucking pervert! Look, nobody was happy about what happened. But long story short, they didn't report me to the police for some reason. They sat me down and talked to me— after they got dressed! It was, ya know, a turning point for me. The Chief took me under his wings after that, helped me clean up and get my act together."

"You're insane," Kaiba said deadpan. "All three of you are certifiably insane."

Three little insane peas in a pod— Kaiba wondered if it was contagious. Then after seeing Jounouchi's content expression, he decided that it might not be a bad thing.

The corner of Jounouchi's eyes crinkled with good humor. "No arguments there. But I'm eternally grateful to them. I wouldn't be here today if they hadn't helped me. Only God knows why they did it, but they did help me leave that life behind."

So Adams was (still?) in a relationship with Yuuki, which explained why he was a part of the charade. As for Jounouchi, his loyalties were hard-won. A tiny voice in Kaiba's head dared to point out he should also be grateful for the two older men's interference. He shut it away for another day.

"This is why you were helping them?" Kaiba asked.

"The Chief asked me to. How could I not?"

No, Jounouchi would never turn his back on someone in need.

An electric shock raced through his system when Jounouchi suddenly took his hand. "We're all on the same side, Kaiba, so please don't forget that. I'm not going to Gozaburo hurt you or Mokuba. We'll find a way to deal with them," he said fervently.

Kaiba wanted nothing more than to lean in, press his lips to Jounouchi's, and bask in his warmth. For now, he fought the urge because he— they were still fragile. Instead, he squeezed the hand cradling his fingers lightly and disentangled himself, while asking about dinner. Jounouchi's stomach growled as if on cue.

The sentimentality would probably only get worse from here on out. It was inevitable, because there was a world of difference between wanting Jounouchi and needing him.


	17. Diversionary Tactics

_17: Diversionary Tactics_

This chapter is rated E.

If you don't like bottom!Kaiba, consider skipping the smutty bits.

* * *

Aila Jyrkiäinen was thrashing Fellini. It was the only way to describe such a one-sided battle.

Kaiba and Jounouchi watched the battle from the fighters' box, joined by Iori, Reiji, and Nielsen after they finished their earlier match. The three teenage boys were already becoming fast friends just after Iori and Reiji bested Nielsen in the previous round.

In the beginning, Wing Gundam Fenice had the upper hand. It had wiped out all of the Qubeley's clear funnels— a feat that no one had managed up to this point. Kaiba was almost disappointed when the Qubeley crash-landed in the snow. She had been off since the beginning of the match, demonstrating none of the power or mobility that had been her signature throughout the rest of the competition.

At least until some switch inside her head flipped mid-battle.

She toyed with the Wing Gundam Fenice, cutting it down piece by piece. Given how the markings on her Gunpla glowed with a devilish light, the picture would have been completed by some cruel laughter. But like some mindless killing machine, she never made a squeak as Fellini ranted and raved, fighting back with only one arm and leg remaining. It was a foolish endeavor considering how outmatched he was. And yet...

"Damn it!" Reiji roared and stormed out the viewers' box, followed by the two other boys.

A gasp rippled through the crowd as the Qubeley thrust its lance straight through Fenice's torso. Kaiba knitted his eyebrows in confusion when the Wing Gundam Fenice grabbed onto the lance with its one remaining arm and thrust the weapon deeper through. What would that accomplish?

The inside of Fellini's cockpit turned red.

"Shit, he's going to self-destruct!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

Months ago, Kaiba would have backed a final play like this. If you couldn't win, deny your opponent their victory; ensure that they went down in flames through whatever means necessary. Show yourself no more mercy than you would for your enemies. Gozaburo practiced this salt-the-earth philosophy in business. In the rare instances where he was unsuccessful in the takeover of another company, he'd sacrifice another subsidiary or two to wipe the blight from the market.

It was retribution and a warning to others that the Kaiba Corporation would not stand for any opposition.

But Ricardo Fellini was no Kaiba Gozaburo. Watching Fellini hover on the precipice of self-destruction now helped Kaiba realize something for the first time. Like a child throwing a tantrum because someone took away their toy, this was the mentality of a man who couldn't accept loss.

"You coward!" Kirara's strong voice resonated through the arena without the aid of a microphone. The self-proclaimed "Gunpla Idol" and the tournament's image character marched purposely toward Fellini on stage. "You're so full of yourself. Blow yourself up along with your opponent? You must be kidding! What are you fighting for? To win, right? Even if you lose today, win tomorrow! If not tomorrow, the day after tomorrow! Together with your Fenice!"

Fellini's hand fell away from his console. He remained frozen, but Kaiba could tell that the words were sinking in as his shoulders slumped. The lights inside the cockpit returned to blue, and the overhead monitors faded to black and then to an announcement about his concession.

"We wish to inform the audience that Ricardo Fellini has conceded the match. Aila Jyrkiäinen is the winner," the announcer declared.

"Oh my god, I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Jounouchi sighed and sagged against Kaiba in relief, but it was short-lived. He snapped upright in his seat and asked, "What is she doing?"

The Qubeley pulled its lance back and kicked the impaled Gunpla to the ground. It loomed for a moment, its markings still shining with a malevolent light, before readjusting its grip on its weapon and stabbing the tip into the prone Fenice. Over and over again, the Qubeley pounded its defeated opponent like a demon— like a possessed beast without pity or quarter.

Kaiba's blood boiled. At this rate, the Wing Gundam Fenice was likely to be damaged beyond repair. Fellini had already surrendered, and she had her victory. She was going to the next round of the tournament. So why? What satisfaction could she derive from continuing her assault?

Gozaburo's sneering face surfaced suddenly from Kaiba's memory. It's not enough to defeat your opponents, one must obliterate them so they had no chance of a comeback— crush them like the insects they were.

Balling his fists, Kaiba rose to his feet and moved toward the exit. "Jounouchi!"

But Jounouchi already had his phone pressed to one ear, shouting at whomever was at the other end of the line to shut down the battle computer. Their eyes met and they nodded to each other, before racing off toward the stage. Kaiba needed to put a stop to this. He would not allow Gozaburo's poison to taint this tournament any longer.

His ways were not Gozaburo's— not anymore.

-x-x-x-

The look of hatred and betrayal on Reiji's face dogged Kaiba's every step all the way back to the hotel. "I'll never forgive you," he'd snarled with venom. Equally difficult to forget was Aila Jyrkiäinen's stricken expression when she was unmasked to reveal Reiji's silver-haired friend. Their situation hit too close to home. That had been Jounouchi and him less than 48 hours ago.

"Hey, Kawaguchi, wait up," Jounouchi huffed as he caught up outside of Kaiba's room.

He wrenched the door open and dragged Jounouchi inside as well. Jounouchi was probably expecting a door in the face instead, because he lost his balance over the threshold, crashed into Kaiba, and knocked both of them down to the carpet. Kaiba landed on his back with a pained grunt, while Jounouchi fell flat against his chest.

Jounouchi groaned and sat up, straddling Kaiba's hips. "You okay?"

Kaiba stared up at his builder, his heart pounding a loud and steady beat in his ears. Gozaburo had not taken Jounouchi away, and Kaiba had not driven him away. Jounouchi was here, and that was all that mattered.

Jounouchi's eyebrows creased with worry. "Talk to me, Kaiba. Did you hit your head on the way down?"

His only response was to grab Jounouchi's tie and pull him down. At first, their lips barely touched, sharing the same inhale and exhale of breath. When Jounouchi's eyes softened, Kaiba transferred his hands into his blond hair and arched up to kiss him. Jounouchi sank into the touch, using his hands on both side of Kaiba's head to brace his weight.

The feel of Jounouchi's lips and his solid weight washed over Kaiba. It grounded him in the here and now, chasing away the ghosts of what-almost-was. Slowly and surely, the need to seek reassurance in Jounouchi's presence was displaced by the longing for more.

In the beginning, Jounouchi only gave dainty, closed-mouthed kisses, as if he was afraid that Kaiba might break. Kaiba rolled his eyes and squeezed the back of Jounouchi's neck. When Jounouchi gasped at the sudden pressure, Kaiba pressed his advantage and thrust his tongue into the wet mouth. Jounouchi's groan rippled as a pleasant rumble through Kaiba's body and down his spine. They kissed long and slow, learning and savoring each other's taste and stoking their mutual desire ever higher. Jounouchi panted, his stirring erection trapped against Kaiba's abdomen. Kaiba smirked and jerked his hips, letting Jounouchi feel his arousal.

"Maybe we should move over to the bed," he nipped at the corner of Jounouchi's mouth, causing his eyes to darken with lust.

Jounouchi nodded dumbly before scrambling off of him and over to the nearest bed. He cursed as he struggled with his sneakers' lace while Kaiba toed off his loafers. Kaiba smothered a laugh as Jounouchi hopped up and down on one feet, wrenched off the remaining shoe, and fell back into the mattress with a yelp. He pushed back his hair with one hand, gulping as Kaiba crawled on top of him.

He opened his mouth to say something, but Kaiba was far more interested in other activities than talking. He crushed their lips together, intent on resuming his mission to learn every crevice and cranny of Jounouchi's hot mouth. But as their kisses grew more frenzied and passionate, his sunglasses started to get in the way. Kaiba growled and pulled back, ripping the sunglasses off and tossing them over his shoulder. They hit the wall with a thud. Jounouchi uttered a low "fuck" before biting his lips and staring up with the dazed look of someone who had been hit over the head. Kaiba answered with a feral grin and loosen his cravat instead.

"Shit, I thought we were going to take this slow. Are we really doing this?" Jounouchi asked, before looking like he instantly regretted the question. Kaiba might even call the reaction adorable.

He pulled the fabric loose from his shirt collar and let it fall to the bed. He raised one imperious eyebrow and said, "We can stop if you'd rather." He swung one leg off the bed and eased back.

One of Jounouchi's hands caught his hip and held fast. "Don't you dare."

Kaiba smirked, shrugging off the Meijin's long black coat and stripping off his gloves. Jounouchi's wide eyes lingered on his newly exposed hands. Before Kaiba could stop him, the builder caught one hand and pressed a smile and a firm kiss to the palm.

The unexpectedly tender gesture caused his heart to skip a beat. To cover his own discomfort, he rubbed Jounouchi's covered crotch, enjoying the breath shuddering through body pinned beneath. "Do you have some kind of hand fetish, Jounouchi?" he teased.

Jounouchi smiled cockily and flirted back, "What can I say? I'm a builder. Is there some other part I should be paying attention to?"

In one swift motion, Kaiba grabbed Jounouchi's hair with one hand, yanked his head back for another searing kiss, and undid Jounouchi's fly with the other. He stroked his tongue over Jounouchi's and ran the tip across his palate. Jounouchi tasted like salvation, and Kaiba could worship at its altar for the rest of his life. Hands now shaking with anticipation, his fingers fumbled with the pant's button. He was ready to tear the fabric apart with his bare hands when the obnoxious button finally gave way.

When they broke for air again, Jounouchi laughed, deep and heady, even as Kaiba wiggled one hand under his boxer's waistband to grasp his straining cock.

"Up," Kaiba ordered and yanked the pants down as soon as Jounouchi inched his hips off the mattress.

"God, you're going to be a bossy motherfucker even in bed, aren't you?"

Kaiba chose not to dignify him with an answer, instead sliding down and swallowing the length of Jounouchi's erection. The reaction was instantaneous— Jounouchi bucked with a fevered moan. Kaiba eased back along the shaft to catch his breath, but Jounouchi wove his fingers into his hair and pulled him closer. Kaiba breathed slowly through his nose, reveling in the scent of Jounouchi's arousal. His head swam, too full of new discoveries about Jounouchi and too empty of any other concern save for the man squirming beneath him. When Jounouchi finally whined in need, Kaiba flattened his tongue and dragged it back and forth across the underside of the shaft.

"Dammit, Seto—"

He rewarded the use of his given name with a hard suck and a firm tug on his balls, causing Jounouchi to cry out hoarsely.

Above him, Jounouchi couldn't keep his mouth shut. "Shit, I'm not ever going to be able to look at your lips and not see them wrapped around my cock like this. You have no idea what you look like right now."

Kaiba had a few guesses: flushed and debauched probably chief among them. He kept working— sucking, licking, and massaging— until his jaw, throat, and cheeks began to ache. Every time his cock hit the back of his throat, hunger stabbed deep in his belly. Through his bangs, he watched Jounouchi's sweaty face, almost agonized by the pleasure, and a fierce sense of pride swept through him. He would the only one to reduce Jounouchi to this gibbering mess. He wasn't surprised that Jounouchi couldn't keep quiet during sex any more than he could at any other given time. Fuck, in fact, he preferred it this way. With each praise that spilled from Jounouchi's swollen lips, the tension in his groin coil tighter and hotter. He moaned around the flesh between his lips and reached down to touch himself. He had never been so hard before in his life.

"Fuck, Seto, I'm could come just from watching you. Oh my god, you should see how your ass is wiggling around like—"

Jounouchi jerked erratically, fingers tightening in his hair until roots started separating from the scalp. No, not yet! Kaiba wasn't ready to let him come, even if he desperately wanted to taste Jounouchi. There would be other opportunities for that, but today, he had other plans. Ripping his head out of Jounouchi's grasp, he gripped the base of Jounouchi's cock to stave off his orgasm. Kaiba's lungs burned as he struggled to catch his breath again. Each exhale caused Jounouchi's erection to twitch, a pearl of pre-cum balanced precariously on the head.

"Why the fuck did you stop?! I swear to God if you're messing with me." Jounouchi cried hysterically, bringing both hands up to cover his flushed face. His burning eyes peeked out between his fingers, smoldering with a promise that electrified every nerve ending in Kaiba's body.

Kaiba ripped off his uniform jacket and shirt, before starting on his pants. Climbing out of the bed, he swiftly undid his pants and dropped both it and his underwear to the floor. Jounouchi gave a strangled gasp and his hands fell to his side, fisting in the bedsheets.

"No, Jounouchi, I'm going to ride you," he purred. "Now strip."

Jounouchi was naked in seconds, delayed only when his feet got tangled in his pant legs. A part of Kaiba wondered if he could motivate Jounouchi to work as quickly in other contexts, but the train of thought was cut short by Jounouchi's strong arms dragging him back into bed. The next several moments were lost in a haze of skin and sweat as they tried to touch and suck on every bare inch of flesh. Kaiba hissed as Jounouchi bit down particularly hard on the cord of his neck. Almost as an apology, Jounouchi laved his tongue over the sore spot.

Kaiba wrenched his head away and muttered darkly, "Careful. You're lucky that my uniform has a high collar." He fingered the tender spot that was bound to bruise as brilliantly as the other marks now littering his torso.

Jounouchi grinned mischievously, and Kaiba resisted the urge to cuff his ears like a misbehaving pet. Deciding he had enough foreplay, Kaiba reached for the bottle of lotion on the nightstand. It wasn't ideal, but it would do in a pinch. Judging by the angry red of both their erections, neither of them was going to last long.

Jounouchi caught his wrist and tossed bottle aside. He shook his head. "Get the conditioner from the bathroom. It's more slippery. I don't wanna hurt you."

"I'm fine." A little pain had never bothered Kaiba. The one good thing to come out of his upbringing was that he'd developed a higher than average pain tolerance.

"Okay, then one of us has to get dressed and go buy some actual lube," Jounouchi released him and folded his arms over his chest. "We can play rock-paper-scissor for it."

Kaiba gawked at him. "You can't be serious."

Jounouchi cast his gaze toward the ceiling and said nothing more.

Kaiba growled. Fine, he could see that Jounouchi wasn't going to budge on the issue. He stormed into the bathroom and retrieved the two bottles of complimentary hair conditioner set on the sink. Returning to bed, Kaiba chucked both bottles at his head.

Jounouchi caught them both with a shit-eating grin. "C'mon," he patted the mattress.

Kaiba glared, but a pointed look at his engorged penis convinced him to climb back into bed. "Have you ever...?" he trailed off as his bravado finally wavered.

Jounouchi nodded and squeezed a generous dollop from the bottle. He drew Kaiba in for another deep yet tender kiss. He trailed one hand down the contour of Kaiba's spine, petting each vertebrae, as the other smeared gel over his entrance. Soon, the room was filled with the heady smell of cedar and amber. He wondered if his lust was finally driving him crazy with olfactory hallucinations until he realized it must be the conditioner. Kaiba shuddered every time fingers brushed over him without pushing in, but he refused to beg.

He refused to beg.

"Hurry the fuck up," he snapped as his patience reached its limit, which was apparently what Jounouchi had been waiting for.

Kaiba hissed sharply as Jounouchi's slippery finger finally penetrated the ring of tight muscle. Breathing through both his mouth and nose, he forced his body to relax around the intrusion. He used the rest of the bottle of conditioner to coat Jounouchi's shaft, letting the feel of his eager flesh distract him from the second finger slowly working its way into him. This was taking too long, and Kaiba had made his concession to Jounouchi's "sensibility" by getting the conditioner. He wanted more, and he was tired of waiting. They danced around each other for months. This was the only inevitable outcome between them.

He leaned forward, tightened his grip, and whispered against Jounouchi's ear. "Your cock may be up my ass, but don't forget that I'm fucking you, Jounouchi." He bit his earlobe for emphasis.

"Fuck!" Jounouchi's whole arm shook as he pumped his fingers deep into Kaiba.

Kaiba laughed, easing himself off Jounouchi's fingers and lining the head of his cock with his entrance. Even if he was the one on the receiving end, he enjoyed being in control too much to relinquish it just yet. Jounouchi's hands moved forward to hold Kaiba's hips, as hot as brands on Kaiba's skin. Jounouchi's eyes were so dark and wild.

Baring his teeth, Kaiba commanded, "Say it."

His thundering heart threatened to pound out of his rib cage.

"Please, Seto," Jounouchi pled breathlessly. "Fuck me."

Groaning, Kaiba threw his head back and impaled himself on Jounouchi's cock. The combination of pain and pleasure sent an electric shock racing up his spine, forcing the air from his lungs until he was dizzy and panting. He gave himself a moment to adjust, enjoying the way Jounouchi's girth stretched him. He sucked a matching bruise high on Jounouchi's neck, momentarily calming the hot and dark possessive streak coursing through his veins. Jounouchi looked like the very picture of control on the verge of shattering— eyes screwed shut and chest heaving with every body-shaking breath while he molded a set of matching hand-prints on Kaiba's waist.

"Open your eyes or I won't move," he said harshly.

Jounouchi's eyes snapped open on command. Kaiba rewarded his compliance with a rise and fall of his hips, wringing a strangled gasp from Jounouchi. Jounouchi rose to meet him on the third thrust. On the fourth, Jounouchi wiggled into a seated position for better leverage, driving his cock so deep that he choked with need. To hell with drawing this out, there would be more opportunities for that later. Kaiba tugged on his jutting erection, urged ever closer to the edge by Jounouchi's frenzied chant of "Seto, fuck, you're so tight." Jounouchi's calloused hand rubbing on his glans and the first drag across his prostate finally broke the dam.

Kaiba went rigid— his mouth falling open in a silent cry as he came over their intertwined hands and Jounouchi's stomach.

Jounouchi pulled him close for a biting kiss before emptying himself after two more shallow thrusts. Kaiba moaned, feeling his insides grow slicker with every twitch of Jounouchi's cock. He collapsed onto Jounouchi's broad chest, letting the other man soothe his frayed nerves with gentle caresses and lazy kisses.

No one would ever take Jounouchi Katsuya away from him.

-x-x-x-

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jounouchi asked for the fifth time.

"I'm sure. If you ask me once more—" Kaiba's tirade died, cut off by a gentle nudge of Jounouchi's fingers and a firm press of his lips. After Jounouchi pulled away, he growled, "You were doing that on purpose."

Jounouchi, already redressed in his work uniform after a shower, shrugged. "Maybe a little bit. I mean, I'm kinda worried. But considering how quickly you went back to your normal, snarly self, I'm not that worried."

"Good, then go already. Or you'll be late for your meeting with Bakura." Using one hand to keep the towel secured around his waist, he turned Jounouchi around with the other and pushed him toward the door.

"Yeah, yeah," Jounouchi rolled his eyes and started on lacing up his sneakers.

Satisfied with the response, Kaiba turned away and considered his creased uniform discarded on the floor. Jounouchi might be able to get away with the rumpled look, but Kaiba needed to look his best in the battle arena. He would ask hotel services to deliver him a fresh one for tomorrow. Sighing, he bent over to retrieve the Meijin overcoat. But as he was able to grasp the dark fabric, a firm grip tugged on his upper arm and pulled him back into standing position.

Kaiba pivoted to scold Jounouchi, who grinned and walked him back into the writing desk. When Kaiba hit the edge of the table, he tried to look over his shoulder to check on his laptop. But Jounouchi's hands though, one planted around his neck and the other cradling the small of his back, held him firmly in place.

"I'll see you later tonight?" Jounouchi asked, a little heated and more than a touch throaty.

He nodded.

Jounouchi kissed him again— long and sweetly. He responded, aching but refusing to tremble. Maybe he trembled a little…

After Jounouchi left, Kaiba dressed and deliberated on his next move. His current situation was not a status quo to be maintained or tolerated. He needed to break Gozaburo's hold: over him, over the tournament, and over PPSE. But challenging his father, and Noa by extension, was no trivial task.

Involving Jounouchi would only place him in the line of fire. Kaiba couldn't let that happen, not after how far his father went to eliminate the last Meijin. Jounouchi would be mad— no, make that furious. But Kaiba would do best to not disappoint him. He could learn to be brave and good like Jounouchi. This was his fight— his war to win.


	18. Polarity Strategy

_18: Polarity Strategy_

Kaiba loosened the death grip on his mobile phone, breathing in measured beats to alleviate the tension building in his neck. It was a testament to how unaccustomed he was to asking for favors, but now was not the time to get caught up in his pride. He coached his next words in English carefully, "I greatly appreciate your aid in this matter."

"I'm always happy to help a the friend of a friend. I'll be in contact again soon with more news," the calm voice on the other end of the line was annoyingly reassuring.

He ended the call and pocketed his phone inside his uniform jacket. Jounouchi poked his head through the green room's door, tapping on his left wrist impatiently. After adjusting his coat and sunglasses, Kaiba joined him in the hall.

"C'mon, the match's about to start," Jounouchi scolded as he took his hand.

As they neared the entrance, Jounouchi started to pull away. Kaiba held his hand tighter, smirking at his partner's sudden confusion. After checking to make sure no one was watching, he reeled Jounouchi in for a kiss.

"What was that for?" Jounouchi asked afterwards.

"I believe a kiss for good luck is customary."

Still smiling, Jounouchi shoved him gently. "As if you believe in luck. You don't need to feed me some bullshit excuse next time."

"Hmm, perhaps you're right."

Kaiba tried to take a step back, but Jounouchi weaved his fingers through his cravat and yanked him down again. The second kiss left them both breathless and a little flushed.

"Now that was a good luck kiss," Jounouchi said smugly before releasing him.

Unable to wipe the smile completely from his face, he followed Jounouchi out into the arena. He squinted against the bright stage-lights overhead, blinding even through his tinted lenses. From the other side, Kujaku approached the stage, her every stride reflecting her confidence. They sized each other up, devoid of hostilities. For the first time, Kaiba caught himself seeking out a fighter's strengths, rather than her weakness.

"Oi, Jounouchi," Kujaku called from the other side of the console with a hand on each hip in a classic power pose and an inviting smile on her ruby red lips. "How about a wager for old time's sake?"

Jounouchi laughed. "You're on! The usual stakes then."

She flipped her hair back and nodded. "Prepare to lose then, boys!" she whooped.

"Hell no, we're gonna kick your ass, Mai! Right, Kawaguchi?" Jounouchi turned determined and beseeching eyes on Kaiba. If there weren't several thousand witnesses watching them, Kaiba would have kissed him again.

Kaiba smirked at both her and Jounouchi, "Naturally."

The possibility of further bickering was interrupted by the announcer declaring the start of the match. Immediately afterwards, the battle computer booted up— a field of ethereal blue stars blooming between them. Jounouchi's childish excitement upon seeing the particles never changed, and Kaiba felt a flutter of anticipation for the upcoming battle. It was strange to find none of the usual apprehension or claustrophobic pressure there only days ago.

"Field 3: Desert. Please set your GP Base. Please set your Gunpla."

A virtual sun peeked out from behind the horizon, casting an interplay of light and shadow across the birdlike figure perched on top of a jagged rock in the center of an otherwise flat and barren landscape. Kujaku's Jagd Doga was modified to capitalize on the suit's avian appearance; even its fingers were lengthened and sharpened to resemble talons. The folds in its custom booster pack unfurled to create a silhouette like a pair of feathered wings.

Kujaku Mai wasn't known as the "Harpy Queen" for nothing.

Kaiba landed the Imperial Legilis opposite her. A cloud of dust rolled over them. The Jagd Doga remained fixed on its perch like a gargoyle— it wasn't going to act until Kaiba made the first move. There was one thing he needed to know before starting the battle. Without taking his eye off her Gunpla on the main camera's feed, he brought up his commlink with Jounouchi and asked, "The usual stakes, what are they?"

"If she wins, I owe her dinner and dancing."

He scowled. "And if you win?"

Jounouchi's shit-eating grin grew ever wider. "If I win, she has to go with me to an amusement park."

Of all the unbelievably juvenile and Jounouch-esque things to—

"So either way, she gets a date with you?" he snapped, irritation crawling under his skin. His glare flitted back and forth between the Jagd Doga and his builder. After settling on opening a new voice comm to his opponent, Kaiba drew the Legilis' GN blade and lunged at the Jagd Doga. "Kujaku, I demand changes to the terms of your wager with Jounouchi."

The Jagd Doga's beam saber arced through the air, meeting the GN blade in a shower of sparks. She then broke away first, flying back and launching the missiles from its shoulder racks. Kaiba cut down two of them with his GN blade, blocked three more with his shield binder, and redirected the last one with a well-aimed kick. The last missile impacted with the ground under the Jagd Doga's left leg.

"Aw, don't be like that, Seto. It's just a friendly bet between friends," Jounouchi pleaded over the video link, now wide-eyed and innocent looking. If he thought Kaiba was going to relent just because he pulled a sad puppy face, he was sorely mistaken.

"Exactly, _Seto _," Kujaku teased. "You need to learn how to share. Now I wouldn't be opposed to you joining in on the fun, hon."

Kaiba's response was to switch the GN blade to the Legilis' left hand and pull the buster rifle. A green ray of energy cut through the empty air where the Jagd Doga previously hovered.

"Dammit, Mai, don't antagonize him more," Jounouchi scolded. "Who do you think has to deal with him afterwards?"

He leered at Jounouchi. "I'm sure you'll figure out a way."

Jounouchi scrubbed his suddenly beet red face with one hand.

The Jagd Doga's funnels came next, and Kaiba countered with the Legilis' bits. Each point of impact between the funnels and bits exploded into a curtain of fire and dust, providing the perfect smokescreen. He dropped the buster rifle to pass the GN blade back into his dominant hand. He charged into the smoke surrounded by more bits to illuminate his path. Four pinpoints of light suddenly appeared ahead. Kaiba immediately feinted right, dodging weapons fire from the Jagd Doga's four mega particle guns, and sliced through her handheld shield with a stroke from below. However, he paid for the move with the loss of his shield binder to Kujaku's counter-strike when she ejected the heated knife from her beam saber's handle.

Jounouchi cheered and gloated, "Take that, Mai. Now you got no funnels, shield, or mega particle guns!"

Kaiba rolled his eyes. And Jounouchi called him a show-off.

"Yeah, well, you guys lost your shield and bits," she blew an audible raspberry.

"I thought we were battling, not having a tea party," Kaiba snarked at both blonds as a smile fought its way over his lips.

Kujaku and he traded blow for blow. Maybe he could have ended the fight already, but he didn't want to yet. He wanted to see more of what he— she— they were capable of. Each time that their blades crossed, Kaiba could feel the rattle and jolt deep in his bones. Fire, the sort he had never felt before, coursed through his veins. His heart was empty and light— overflowing and buoyant.

Maybe this was what the third Meijin meant by "freedom."

Kaiba inhaled, exhaled, and finally let go.

-x-x-x-

Surrounded by thousands of applauding Gunpla fans, he and Kujaku shook hands. Her hair and eyes positively glowed under the stage-lights, outshone only by the full-blown smile taking over the rest of her admittedly attractive face.

Who knew someone could still be so radiant after losing?

"Ah! I did my best, but I guess you're not Meijin for nothing." She tilted her head and regarded him warmly. "Well, there's always next year."

"You're good, but I'll always be better." Kaiba felt the corner of his lips curve softly and without derision.

Kujaku threw her head back and laughed with peals as loud and clear as bells. She wrapped one arm around her waist and cradled her shaking body until her mirth subsided. "I like you, Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth. You're _interesting _," she drew out the word like she was savoring a piece of candy. "Jounouchi must agree with me."

Behind Kaiba, Jounouchi muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "shameless flirt."

"I'll see you both of you boys soon!" She blew them each a kiss before sashaying off the stage.

There was a ten-minute break in the program before the second and final match of the semi-finals was to start, but both Iori and Reiji were already waiting at the foot of the stage. Kaiba stopped at the bottom of the stairs to study the tense and pinched expressions on both of the teenagers' face. Jounouchi went straight to Iori, leaning close to have a private conversation. He turned his focus on the fighter of the team, who stood rigid with both hands balled at his side. He was glaring at the tunnel at the opposite side of the stadium where his opponent would likely emerge from. Reiji looked ready to strike something— or specifically, someone.

"If you hold onto your hate too tightly," Kaiba said as he searched for Noa's empty seat in the stand. "It may destroy you. Make sure your enmity is directed at those who deserve it."

Reiji looked up, stunned. Kaiba returned the unblinking stare and watched as the storm in the boy's eyes eventually cleared.

"Are both you and Fellini in on it together? You say the exact same things," Reiji sighed as he looked away and scratched behind his ear.

Kaiba snorted.

"Hey, Sei," Reiji called to his partner. "I thought about it really hard, the reasons why Aila did what she did, but I don't have an answer after all. So I've decided to stop thinking about it. You don't mind, do you?"

The smile that Reiji flashed Iori was nervous and fragile.

"Of course!" Iori responded with conviction.

Kaiba stepped around the two boys and continued toward the exit. Several moments later, Jounouchi caught up and fell into pace at his side.

"You better not have given them an unfair advantage." He glanced at Jounouchi out of the corner of his eye. But he knew that Jounouchi, being a wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve type of person, was more concerned about the fractures in the friendship between Reiji and Aila Jyrkiäinen.

Jounouchi sidled closer, brushing his fingers against the back of Kaiba's hand. "Of course not. I wanted to make sure they thought their situation through. Seemed like the decent thing to do as their senpai. I want to stay and watch."

Kaiba nodded. "I'll be back later. There's something I need to take care of first."

"Should I come with?"

"Don't worry, it's a trivial matter," Kaiba caught Jounouchi's hand and squeezed before making his exit.

-x-x-x-

Noa was waiting outside of Gate 15 as they agreed upon. Inside the arena, the crowd applauded as the battle began. The hallways outside the stadium were deserted as a result. Asking to meet in a public place had been a deliberate move on Kaiba's part. He didn't want to make it easy for Gozaburo and, by extension, Noa to pull any tricks.

Kaiba considered his half-brother, straight-backed and overly self-assured, and he felt nothing toward him. His conscience was clear. He crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance. "I won't do it," he declared.

With a bored expression, Noa inspected his manicured nails while speaking, "You're wasting time and effort posturing for me. You don't get it, Seto. You don't have a choice in the matter. Now be a good boy—"

"As typical as it is for Father to use Mokuba against me, I doubt you or he would hurt him. He is still a Kaiba," he stared at Noa. Their sibling rivalry had always been confined between the two of them. Kaiba often suspected that Noa harbored a soft spot for their youngest brother that he was careful not to show. He was banking on that now. "And I know Mokuba would be disappointed in me if I folded this easily to your persuasions. England is a long way from Japan, and neither you nor Father can keep an eye on him twenty-four seven. Mokuba will not obediently comply with your house arrest."

What Kaiba didn't reveal was he was putting contingencies in place. It had been a mistake to leave Mokuba behind when he left home.

A delicate frown slipped over Noa's lips. "You are correct. Mokuba has made several attempts to give Daimon the slip. It's why he's currently confined to his room until school starts again."

"Your leverage, though initially shocking, is weak and the novelty has worn off. If that alone is enough to browbeat me, you and Father underestimate me as always," Kaiba sneered.

Noa drew his phone from one pocket and smiled contemptuously. "And if I was to threaten someone not under the protection of the Kaiba family name?"

Kaiba narrowed his eyes as his older brother raised his chin high. His insides chilled upon seeing the expression on Noa's face— arrogant and triumphant. But for the sake of his plan, he needed to know what other cards his father and brother held. Did they know that Yuuki Tatsuya was still alive? Or maybe… Kaiba maintained his impervious and aloof attitude and pressed on, "Why would I care then?"

Noa turned on his phone and started swiping a hand across the holographic screen. "I've been watching you for almost a week, Seto. It has not escaped my notice how close you and your builder are. Jounouchi Katsuya, 20 years old, born and raised here in Shizuoka. His parents divorced in a rather contentious court case when he was eight. The father won full custody of Jounouchi-kun, and the mother of his sister, Shizuka. Now the interesting part is what he does several years later. You builder has quite the colorful rap sheet."

"Which is sealed," he pointed out neutrally. However, he knew that a sealed criminal record meant nothing before the might of the Kaiba Corporation, where Gozaburo could have it unsealed with a wave of his pinky finger.

Noa continued, his tone remained light and airy. "You're right though, Seto. That's in the past, and Jounouchi-kun has done an admirable job of turning his life around. I don't know much about Gunplas, but he is a relatively talented builder, is he not? I know it's no small feat to be hired by PPSE either. And yet he's also a part of the Works Team given his age and seniority at the company. Some people might claim favoritism or something worse. What do you think will happen to his promising career if your affair came to light?"

Noa turned his screen, displaying a still of Kaiba's hotel room. It appeared to be shot from the corner where the television unit sat and gave a wide-angled view of the rest of the room. Noa tapped the screen again and the video began to play. Kaiba took note of the timestamp on the bottom of the screen: yesterday around five in the evening.

Fuck.

Double fuck.

There was no sound, but about ten seconds in, he and Jounouchi stumbled into view. Kaiba watched as Jounouchi fell back onto the bed with a wide-mouthed yelp, still holding the sneaker he'd wrenched off his foot in one hand. The Kaiba on video followed suit, straddling Jounouchi and kissing him like his life depended on it. Noa paused the video before it got to the more risque parts of the previous night.

"We both know what happens next." A note of disgust was layered under Noa's words.

The rat bastard bugged his room— spied on him and recorded his most private and cherished moments. It wasn't something that was below Noa. In fact, it was so Noa that Kaiba couldn't believe he hadn't anticipated the possibility. Noa would hurt Jounouchi if necessary, while Gozaburo wouldn't hesitate and would enjoy it. Kaiba saw red. He grabbed Noa by his suit lapels and slammed him into the wall.

"Careful, someone is always watching," Noa hissed meaningfully.

They glared at each other, hatred crackling in the air between them. Kaiba pushed Noa one last time before stepped back and putting some much needed distance between them. If he stood too close, he was going to rearrange Noa's entire face.

Clearing his throat, Noa straightened his tie and jacket. He schooled his face into its usual blank slate before speaking again. "I have yet to report this development to Father. I don't want him to be any further shamed by your actions, Seto. So if you do as you're told, we can all walk away with our dignity intact, Jounouchi-kun included. Do we have an agreement?"


	19. Because you told me that my weakness is

_19: Because you told me that my weakness is my strength_

Chapter is rated M; some smut in the last scene.

* * *

Planning a break-in was more difficult than Kaiba expected. Perhaps he should apologize to Jounouchi for mocking him for failing to burglar Adam's home all those years ago. He laid on his hotel bed, mentally mapping out the corridors of the auxiliary building that housed Technical Sciences. Noa had sent him detailed schematics of the corporate headquarters; which only meant Gozaburo had other moles lying in wait at PPSE.

Kaiba's own PPSE credentials opened doors everywhere else on company grounds except for where he needed to go. For Technical Sciences, he would need administrator-level access. Baker was present at the stadium babysitting Mashita at the tournament. Getting close enough to swipe her company badge was the greatest obstacle though, and both her proximity to Mashita and her die-hard professionalism made her a poor candidate. She was likely to notice a missing badge before he had the chance to clone and return it.

As Chief Engineer, Adam's company badge would also work. But like Baker, he was too smart and too cautious now to lose track of it. Kaiba hadn't seen Adams since that day he found out the third Meijin still lived, but he knew for a fact that the engineer had been lurking around the tournament since day one. If he was to approach Adams in person, it would rouse not only his but also Yuuki Tatsuya's suspicions. All of which was likely to come back to him in the form of an irate Jounouchi.

With a pang of regret, Kaiba decided that Yuugi would have to do.

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi pressed a palm to Kaiba's cool forehead. "Are you sick?" he asked half-joking and half-disbelieving.

He'd spent most of the morning tuning the Legilis. To his surprise, Kaiba had been the one to track him down in the workshop and convince him to take a break. It was a strange reversal in their usual roles.

Kaiba rolled his eyes and brushed his hand away. He wore a pinched expression that was the Kaiba version of pouting. "I won't ask again then."

Maybe he felt lonely and was reluctant to admit it. Jounouchi grabbed his elbow as he was about to turn away.

"Wait, lemme put away everything and we can check out the festival together." He smiled in that way he knew would make Kaiba pause and reconsider. His heart sped up. It could be like a date, but Jounouchi knew better than to say it aloud. Kaiba was liable to storm out and ignore him for the rest of the week if he even hinted at the idea.

Kaiba nodded, and Jounouchi scrambled to lock the Legilis and his tools away. Good thing his laziness won out earlier; otherwise Jounouchi'd have to go back to his room to change out of his work uniform. He didn't want to give Kaiba any excuse to change his mind. Who knew what his next chance to for a not-date would be?

He jammed the case into the safe and slammed the door close. The electronic lock engaged as he twirled to face Kaiba again. "Let's go!"

In the week between the end of the semi-finals and the final match, PPSE and several other sponsors organized a Gunpla festival. Traditionally, it was a big a draw as the final battle in the championship. Jounouchi once read that the festival alone accounted for almost 40 percent of Shizuoka's annual tourism revenue.

This year's may be the biggest one yet.

There were food stands as far as the eye could see. Jounouchi was hard-pressed to pick something first. Someone was grilling squid on a skewer several feet away. Everyone else around them was munching on Haro-shaped taiyakis. It was a good thing that competitors ate for free, so at least his wallet wouldn't suffer— just his waistline.

A finger tilted his chin up and snapped his mouth closed.

"Jounouchi, you're drooling," Kaiba scolded him softly. Jounouchi would like to think he did so affectionately.

Confounded by the various choices, he turned to the other man for advice. "What do you want to eat first?"

Kaiba sighed, "You have an incredibly one-tracked mind." Despite his complaint, he motioned to a nearby stand serving yakisoba.

Further down the stretch of stalls, he spotted Reiji, Sei, Aila, and another girl with glasses in a group. They were all smiling and laughing with one another. Sei then looked his way, and the younger builder waved upon recognizing him. Jounouchi waved back with equal enthusiasm.

"It appears that everything has worked out between them." Kaiba's voice rumbled right above his ear.

Jounouchi craned his neck to look into his face. Kaiba was standing so close, practically pressed against his back. "Yeah, they had a good battle yesterday. Did you watch it?"

Much to Jounouchi's disappointment, Kaiba ran off to do some errand or other right after their battle with Mai. He didn't return to the stadium afterwards, not even after Reiji and Sei finished their battle with Aila. He found him back at the hotel instead, typing furiously into his laptop and shunning Jounouchi as he worked. Dejected, Jounouchi went back to his own room and tried to distract himself with manga. When Kaiba sought him out again later that night, he was in a marginally better mood, but Jounouchi still sensed he was troubled.

Kaiba nodded. "I did. Although they were flirting more than battling. But what was that sudden light in the middle of the battle?"

Jounouchi shrugged. The battle started out tense and brutal, similar to Aila's previous fight with Ricardo Fellini. Even though Sei had brilliantly packed the vulcan bullets with paint to mark the Qubeley's transparent funnels, the two teenagers soon found themselves on the defensive when the Qubeley's markings started to glow. Jounouchi had feared that it would soon end in tears for somebody. Another minute later, two sources of golden light originating from both fighters' cockpit nearly blinded everyone in the arena. Afterwards, the mood did a complete 180— no more cheap tricks, just pure unadulterated battling. Reiji and Sei won, and whatever bad blood existed between Reiji and Aila vanished afterwards. Jounouchi counted it as a success and he couldn't be happier for them.

He nudged Kaiba in the ribs and joked, "Who knows? Maybe it was the light of the human heart?"

Kaiba snorted. At the front of the line, he paid the vendor for two platters of yakisoba, shoving one into Jounouchi's waiting hand. Jounouchi was about to point out his mistake, but his stomach did funny flip-flops at the thought of Kaiba paying for him on their not-date. Goddamn, he was getting all sappy.

Before inhaling a mouthful of noodles, Jounouchi asked, "They're going to be our opponents in the final match. Aren't you excited?"

Jounouchi, for one, couldn't wait to see how their Imperial Legilis measured up to the Star Build Strike's RG System. Iori Sei's Gunpla remained one of the most creatively engineered models to come out of this year's competition. Kaiba may have doubted their abilities at first, but Jounouchi never did. From the first moment he laid eyes on it, he knew it would be their final opponent at the end of the tournament.

Kaiba looked back over at the group of teenagers, a strange and muted light in his blue eyes. Jounouchi was still learning how to read him, but he could make out the dash of regret mixed with something else. Was he afraid of losing? But there was no shame in losing to honorable opponents like Iori Sei, Reiji, and their Star Build Strike. Aila, Fellini, and others were proof of that. Jounouchi wanted his partner to recognize how damaging the all-consuming desire to win at any cost was. That was not just true of Gunpla battling, but of life in general. He swore that if he ever had the chance to meet Kaiba Gozaburo, he would punch the asshole good for the number he did to Seto.

Then Kaiba blinked and his face cleared, calm as the surface of a frozen lake. "You're excited enough for the both of us, Jounouchi," he drawled. "You're like an overgrown puppy."

Jounouchi kicked him in the shin and strolled over to the yakitori stand. Served the jerk right.

-x-x-x-

For the rest of the afternoon, they browsed the stalls, peeking into the Gunpla building classes and some of the fights in the Free Battle corner. They watched Fellini trounce several opponents with his newly rebuilt Wing Gundam Fenice Rinascita, but his win streak ended at the hands of Kirara's pink Gerbera Tetra Custom.

Jounouchi couldn't remember the last time he had this much fun joking and hanging out with someone. There was one thing that bugged him though.

Kaiba turned heads everywhere they went, no doubt due to his personal cocktail of tall, handsome, and haughty. High-school girls clad in their uniforms were the worst offenders. They moved in groups, giggling and mooning at Kaiba when they flocked past. Not for the first time, Jounouchi wondered why no one recognized him as Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth. It should be obvious even to blind people. While he cut a very dashing figure in the Meijin costume, he was no less handsome and only slightly less distracting outside of it. Less distracting for Jounouchi anyway— these days, thoughts about that trench coat and sunglasses were often accompanied by a punch of lust deep in his gut.

He studied his partner (could he even call him his boyfriend?) out of the corner of his eyes. Today, Kaiba wore khakis and a blue button-down shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. Shit, Jounouchi did not just think that. Shit, he was full-on staring now. Kaiba smirked as he brushed a firm hand against the small of his back. Feeling his face grow warm, Jounouchi shivered despite the summer temperature.

Bastard.

"What now?" Jounouchi asked, trying to ignore the gut-wrenching arousal awakened by Kaiba's touch. Even though it was now early evening, the crowd had yet to thin. In fact, more people kept coming out of the woodwork.

"I need to meet Yuugi by the statues soon."

He blinked in surprise. "Oh, lead the way then."

One of the festival attractions included the life-size 1-1 scale Gundam models from Odaiba. Every year, a new feature was added to the two models of the RX-78-2 Gundam and the MS-06S Zaku II Commander Type. Organizers were letting people sit in the actual cockpit this year, which meant that the area was going to be insanely crowded. Thankfully, Kaiba was tall enough to see over most people and Yuugi and his crazy hair had the good sense to stand apart from the main throng of people queuing up.

"Kaiba-kun, Jounouchi-kun, congratulations!" Yuugi greeted, still dressed in his PPSE uniform, having came straight from work.

"Thank you for making the trip over here, Yuugi." Kaiba inclined his head politely in his version of a bow.

"It's no trouble at all," Yuugi smiled and passed a backpack over to him.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Jounouchi asked, "What's that?"

"Kaiba-kun asked me to bring him some extra clothes from his apartment."

Jounouchi laughed. "Shit, what's his place like?"

"Clean, unlike yours," Kaiba muttered loudly.

He pouted, "How come I've never been there?" Jounouchi was fishing, but it seemed unfair that Yuugi had keys to Kaiba's place and he hadn't even seen it before. The sleeping-together-thing was a recent development in their relationship, but he and Kaiba had been friends beforehand.

"Maybe I'll invite you over after the championship," Kaiba's lips twisted up with the hint of a promise.

Fuck, that lust burned like a wildfire now. He wanted nothing more than to get Kaiba alone somewhere and to pay him back for all the teasing. Instead, Kaiba turned to Yuugi and invited him back to the hotel for tea and more conversation. Jounouchi trailed behind them, silently cursing Kaiba's sudden desire to socialize. Judging by the few over-the-shoulder glances that Kaiba threw at him, Jounouchi was in for a long night.

-x-x-x-

As soon as Yuugi was out the door, Kaiba found himself backed against a wall with an armful of Jounouchi and a firm thigh inserted between his legs. He always forgot that Jounouchi was stronger than he let on. Jounouchi was also an annoyingly good kisser— but Kaiba didn't like to think about where he acquired that vast pool of experience from. Not only was his mouth hot against Kaiba's, his hands were working under his shirt after pulling the hem loose from his waistband. Kaiba felt his knees weakened, forcing him to rely on the wall to keep him upright. One hand drifted south to grope his buttocks and Kaiba froze up.

Yuugi's company ID, which he had lifted earlier, was like a lead weight in the other back pocket not cradled by Jounouchi's palm.

Thankfully, Jounouchi sensed the change in mood and peeled away with a concerned expression. "What's—"

Kaiba pushed him away and stalked over to the window. Shit, for a moment, he'd almost forgotten about Noa's surveillance bugs, which were still in place. He glared at the framed landscape picture on the wall that contained one of Noa's pinhole cameras. As much as he wanted nothing more than to rip out every last one, doing so would only make his actions suspicious to Noa. But it also didn't mean he should present his older brother with any further ammunition to use.

Jounouchi looked lost and more than a little hurt. "Did I do something wrong?"

Kaiba blurted out the first excuse that came to mind, "I have work to do tonight." Which was true, but he still felt like an ass for saying it.

"Oh," Jounouchi cast his gaze down at the floor and shuffled his feet. "Sorry, I'll get out of your hair then." Before Kaiba could apologize, he was gone.

Kaiba slumped against the window pane and scrubbed one hand across his face. Despite everything, he still could have handled that better. He would have to make it up to Jounouchi later. He set his feelings aside and concentrated on the task at hand. Right now, his first priority was Yuugi's ID badge.

Copying the card's credentials was easy enough given the right equipment, which Kaiba had acquired earlier that morning. The entire process took less fifteen minutes once he had the equipment and programs set up on his laptop. With this, he could grant access to his own company ID or print a copy of Yuugi's to use. The latter option was less likely to rouse suspicions.

Now he needed to alert Yuugi about his company badge. His work would be for naught if Yuugi reported the card missing and security reset his credentials.

There was a new message written in English waiting in his inbox. It read: "Location confirmed. Making arrangements now." He deleted it after reading it.

He composed a new email to Yuugi that simply said, "You dropped your PPSE ID in my room. I'll bring it to you in the morning."

Yuugi's reply came almost immediately. "Oh thank goodness! I didn't even notice I dropped that! orz You're a lifesaver, Kaiba-kun!"

Despite overcoming his first hurdle, Kaiba cringed. Yuugi suspected nothing out of the ordinary, but Kaiba didn't feel any better about taking advantage of his childhood acquaintance. All he could do now was minimize the fallout to himself and no one else. It was the least he could do for Yuugi and Jounouchi's sake. He firmed his resolve and set out on his next task: locating the transmitter receiving the data from Noa's surveillance bugs.

-x-x-x-

The last thing Jounouchi expected was for Kaiba to come into the workshop the next morning and to place those two items on his table. He stared at the bottle of lube and package of condoms like he had never seen them before. Several moments later, he heard Kaiba growl in frustration before his chair was yanked back and Kaiba climbed onto his lap. Jounouchi didn't need to be told twice after that.

Sex in the workshop— Jounouchi fantasized what that'd be like several times before. He'd never done it before. Sleeping with a coworker was risky, and he knew better than to try and sneak someone into PPSE for a quick romp. Not to mention, he'd been too infatuated with one Kaiba Seto for months to consider anyone else. It was better than he imagined— the perfect mix of novelty and almost dirty-wrong. Maybe it wasn't so much the locale as his partner.

After last night's awkward rejection, Jounouchi briefly wondered if Kaiba was uncomfortable with sex unless he was the one to initiate. If true, that would definitely become a problem in the future. Jounouchi didn't do passive; at least not a hundred percent of the time. He liked giving his partners pleasure as much as he liked receiving it.

As if he sensed Jounouchi's concern, Kaiba, though not quite docile, was more permissive than usual. He let Jounouchi dictate the pace, even if he complained bitterly about it. But Jounouchi always managed to momentarily quiet him with a lick here and a bite there. Now buried deep in Kaiba, Jounouchi drew out each thrust until he could hear the faint whine in his voice and the hitch in his breath.

"Faster, dammit." Blunt fingernails dug hard enough into his back to break skin.

"Nope."

Jounouchi turned his head sideways to nip at the milky thigh slung over his shoulder. He paused mid-move to admire the mark he made.

Kaiba glared, but it dissolved into a gasp as soon as he snapped his hips forward. His head knocked back against the workbench with a soft thud. Deciding to take pity on him, Jounouchi braced one arm against the wooden surface and wrapped a fist around his neglected arousal. Kaiba arched off the table, hands raking across Jounouchi's back and scrambling for purchase. Fuck, watching him unravel like this more than made up for last night.

"Are you close?" he asked breathlessly, driving over and over into the hot and tight body underneath him. He pumped the cock in his hand in time with each thrust.

Kaiba's lips fell open to say something, but the only sound to emerge was a choked moan. Instead, he nodded and craned his neck to deliver a sharp-edged kiss to the corner of Jounouchi's mouth.

"Fuck, you're gorgeous."

"Stop yapping, it's—" he groaned and shuddered. "Distracting."

"You can't make me," he laughed, a little drunk and dizzy with love.

Kaiba tried to muster another death glare, but Jounouchi knew exactly how to handle him now. When Kaiba climaxed, tight around his cock and wet between his fingers, Jounouchi felt like he was watching him shatter and reform all at once. Kaiba's defenseless expression pushed Jounouchi over the edge with a frantic "I love you" rolling off his tongue.

They remained entangled for several moments as they regained their breath. The Jounouchi's muscles screamed and burned from exertion. He pulled out and let down Kaiba's quivering legs. Kaiba sat up and rolled his neck with a wince. It turned out that workbenches weren't the most comfortable surface to have sex on. Jounouchi stripped and tied off the used condom, wrapping it in tissues for disposal later. He almost laughed at the cringe on Kaiba's face when he wiped the semen from his stomach. As soon as he finished, Jounouchi wound both arms around his waist and buried his face in the crook of his neck.

"I'm gonna insist on a bed next time. Or at least a sofa," Jounouchi joked halfheartedly.

"What's wrong, Jounouchi? I always figured you'd be the adventurous type," Kaiba taunted, but its bite was softened by the hand running through Jounouchi's hair.

He sighed contently and tightened his embrace, pressing his face into the crook of Kaiba's neck. Kaiba smelled like sex and the hotel soap. He pressed a soft kiss and smile against the fluttering pulse point. "We can always try over a battle console next time," he teased.

Kaiba tensed in his arms.

"Chill, I was just joking." Well, sorta— Jounouchi wasn't opposed to experimentation if Kaiba was up to it.

"What would you do if I wasn't Meijin Kawaguchi?"

Still blissed out from his orgasm and the endorphin flooding his system, the question caught Jounouchi off-guard completely. He lifted his head from its comfortable resting spot and scrunched his forehead in concern. "Huh? What are you talking about? Even if you weren't the Meijin, I'd still love you for you."

Kaiba may have been able to brush off the last "I love you" as some orgasmic slip of the tongue, but he couldn't ignore it a second time. A lump formed in Jounouchi's throat, making it hard to breathe. Nobody ever accused him of lacking courage, just brains. Jounouchi Katsuya loved Kaiba Seto for all his strengths and his flaws, and he wasn't going to pretend it was anything but the truth.

But to say it out loud was a gamble. Jounouchi should know better than to gamble— given his history and his father's history. Everything about their relationship was a gamble from the start: from their first meeting, to being partners, to becoming friends. That had all paid off so far.

Kaiba's unreadable gaze roved over his face, and he seized the chance to study the man in return. Jounouchi had always been fascinated by Kaiba's face, not only because he was classically handsome. Kaiba was more than capable of a convincing poker face, but he often didn't bother to. Most of the time, he didn't mince his words anyway. When someone tested his patience, his growing temper became apparent in the pinched corner of his lips. He smirked, furrowed his brows, and rolled his eyes with the rest of humanity. The only time he tried to hide his feelings was when he felt uneasy or when his disdain turned inward. Both of which happened nowadays more than Jounouchi liked because of Kaiba Noa and Gozaburo's interference.

But Kaiba's eyes, blue as cobalt and often steely with resolve, was his best feature. Maybe that's why no one recognized him out of the Meijin outfit, because the sunglasses hid one of his most distinctive traits from the rest of the world. Watching Kaiba's expression slacken into something less unnaturally neutral, Jounouchi's chest ached. His heart swelled with unspeakable tenderness for this difficult and bullheaded man. There was so much potential for good and love inside him if he'd let it happen. He kissed the seam of Kaiba's mouth and then the hard slant of his cheekbones, trying to mend together the tattered edges. Kaiba jolted under the touch, tensing and then relaxing as he slid one arm down Jounouchi's neck to rest on the small of his back.

"Does sex always make you this mushy?" Kaiba's tone was light and casual as he spoke. His eyes were unclouded and clear of the doubt previously lurking there.

It wasn't a rejection. Even more importantly, it wasn't a denial of how Jounouchi felt. Kaiba accepted his feelings, even if he didn't know how to respond yet. Jounouchi could wait for a little longer. There was no guarantee they wouldn't end in heartbreak, but he dared to hope.

It was always better to choose hope.


	20. I was able to stand up again

_20: I was able to stand up again_

Kaiba glanced at the time again, slightly annoyed at how little had passed. Jounouchi insisted on watching some group called BACK-ON perform at the festival stage. Their music, though serviceable pop-rock, held no interest for him. Using his height to his advantage, he scanned the crowd. Earlier, he had seen Nils Nielsen and Yajima Trading's heiress not-very-subtly sneaking around the back of the Free Battle corner. They didn't notice that they'd attracted the attention of PPSE security. Whatever trouble those two got into was bound to be more interesting than this concert.

Familiar mops of red and blue bobbed past in his peripheral vision. Kaiba turned to track Reiji and Iori as they moved around the edge of the concert crowd. His curiosity morphed into suspicion though once he recognized the third, taller man leading them away.

What the hell was Yuuki doing out and about?

Kaiba tapped Jounouchi on the shoulder, pointed away from the stage, and mouthed something unintelligible. Jounouchi nodded and responded with the universal sign for "I'll call you."

Kaiba pushed through the throng of people, earning a handful of dirty looks. He ignored them and continued to elbow his way through until catching up with Yuuki, Iori, and Reiji at the edge of the grounds. From there on, he dropped back to a distance and followed them to an overlook above the stadium.

Hidden safely behind a bank of trees, Kaiba watched as Yuuki pulled off his hat and smiled warmly at the teens.

"Iori-kun, do you remember what I said back in Tokyo?" Yuuki asked and quirked his head sideways, "The reason why I was intrigued by you— I said I'd tell you if you ever defeated me."

"I remember, Yuuki-senpai." Iori nodded.

The honorific gave Kaiba pause. It suggested an acquaintance more familiar than he originally estimated. His insides churned.

"Which isn't fair cuz we haven't had the chance to battle you since then. You told us to aim for the world tournament, but you're not even a contestant," Reiji stuffed his hands in his pockets and sulked.

Yuuki chuckled, "You're probably right, Reiji-kun. Perhaps we'll get the chance to battle each other soon. But I'll tell you why now, both why you two interested me and why I told you to come here. That's because the one who taught me the joys of Gunpla was your father, Iori Takeshi."

Iori's eyes widened with surprise. "My dad?"

Yuuki nodded and leaned forward against the railing. "Back then, I was set to inherit my stepfather's company and I was sent to study abroad to learn how to be an effective leader. In those days, I simply followed the path that others decided for me. I found myself growing resentful. That's when I met him, your father. He is an inspiring man."

Iori flushed with pride. Reiji's expression also softened.

While the three of them continued to chat, Kaiba processed the new information he'd just heard. So there was a reason he found Iori's name familiar. His father, Iori Takeshi, was the winner of the second world championship. Kaiba should have made the connection sooner. What else had he missed thus far? Maybe Yuuki had always intended to groom Iori, his mentor's son, for a championship. Loyalty ran almost as deep for Yuuki as it did for Jounouchi.

He glanced back at the overlook again, surprised to find that Iori and Reiji were already gone. Yuuki met his gaze and signaled for Kaiba to step forward. Kaiba peeled away from his hiding place and joined the older man by the railing. Standing next to him, the difference in their heights baffled Kaiba. The former Meijin used to seem so much larger than life, but he was shorter than Kaiba in reality.

"You shouldn't be out in public like this. It isn't safe," Kaiba said as he watched the festival grounds below. From up high, the people below scurried like ants.

"Thank you for your concern, Kaiba-kun, but I can take care of myself. You needn't worry about me," Yuuki smiled bright but soft. "It would be a waste to spend such a lovely day cooped inside."

Whatever, Kaiba wasn't Yuuki's keeper and he couldn't be held responsible for his safety. That was up to Adams and maybe Jounouchi.

They lapsed into not-quite-companionable silence. Looking at the other man though, a part of Kaiba envied how easygoing he seemed. These days, the cogs in Kaiba's brain constantly churned with plans and contingencies, trying to map out the next best move in a mental chess match against his Grand Master of a father. Quiet moments like now left him uneasy.

Yuuki broke the ice with a friendly grin. "Congratulations on being one of the two finalists, Kaiba-kun. I thoroughly enjoyed your battle with Kujaku-san."

Kaiba nodded absently. He had enjoyed it too. Kujaku proved to be a worthwhile opponent, and it felt good to let loose. In the future, he wouldn't mind facing Kujaku again.

Yuuki continued, "Please keep that spirit alive when you face Iori-kun and Reiji-kun. Show the people all over the world the joy of Gunplas."

A stray thought suddenly occurred to Kaiba. "Iori and Reiji, do they know you're the third-generation Meijin?"

"No, I would rather Iori-kun know me as an alumnus from his high school and an admirer of his father's. I'm happy they made it this far even if I don't get to battle them."

Kaiba studied the man in front of him, taking in his relaxed posture and the face untouched by animosity. He couldn't understand how Yuuki could speak so openly with him, the son of a man who tried to kill him for his position. He didn't fully trust his good-will and couldn't help but test its limit. "But you do want to battle them. If it wasn't for Gozaburo and everything else this past year, you would be their opponent in the final match."

Jounouchi would have scolded him if he was here.

"You flatter me, Kaiba-kun. Even if I were still Meijin, victory is never guaranteed." The corner of Yuuki's eyes crinkled as he chortled.

Kaiba laughed, hollow with disbelief. "You're a three time world champion hall-of-famer. Of course you'd win. Who else would?"

Yuuki sobered and his face became stern. "You have a lot of talent, Kaiba-kun. There's no denying it. But you must understand there's more to the title of Meijin Kawaguchi than winning. Takeshi-san, Iori-kun's father, taught me that 'Gunpla is freedom.' You can build it as you like. You can fight with it as you like. Build Gunpla as you think best and enjoy the battles to your heart's content. Gunpla gave me freedom and pleasure, and I wanted to help more people share in that pleasure. That was my purpose as Meijin Kawaguchi the Third."

"Then I have failed to uphold your legacy," Kaiba's lips thinned. Their conversation confirmed something that he'd suspected for a while. "But it won't matter soon."

Yuuki's eyes widened in alarm. "Kaiba-kun—"

He cut the man off and dipped into a full bow. "I am grateful that I have the chance to thank you in person for connecting me with your contact in England. My little brother will also thank you. Rest assured that I will bring this business with my father and the Kaiba Corporation to a close. They won't trouble you or PPSE anymore."

Yuuki stepped forward and grabbed a shoulder, holding him in place. "I am happy to help with the matter regarding your brother, but please consider how your actions affect others. Do not destroy yourself trying to beat them at their own game," he hissed forcibly through gritted teeth. Kaiba might have thought him furious if not for the concern written all over his face.

"That's where you're wrong, Yuuki-san." The use of the honorific stunned Yuuki and his grip slackened enough for Kaiba to back away. "I don't intend to play their game at all."

Yuuki stared, eyes narrowed and lips set in a grim line. After a few seconds, he stepped back and donned his hat. "I can't fathom what you have planned, but I can't convince you otherwise, can I?"

Kaiba was not going to back down. He was determined to end this on his own terms. "No, this is my battle to fight. I intend to forge my own path."

He bowed one last time and left Yuuki to his conflicted thoughts.

-x-x-x-

Jounouchi scowled at his phone. Kaiba was ignoring his calls. Where the hell did the bastard run off to? This was supposed to be their time and Kaiba was nowhere to be found. Jounouchi tried not to get too glum, but it felt like he was seeing less and less of his partner over the last few days.

Sighing, he lifted his device to compose a message. He slowly thumbed the characters in, clumsily weaving his way through the crowd. Someone yanked him back and saved Jounouchi from a nasty encounter with the grill of a food stall.

"What are you? Five?" A familiar voice scolded him.

Jounouchi threw an apology to the vendor before facing his savior. "Haha, sorry Chief, you saved my skin like always."

Allan ruffled Jounouchi's hair and sighed, "Jesus Christ, the bunch of you have me running around like some babysitter. Have you seen Tatsuya anywhere? I go to the restroom for one second and he disappears on me."

"You let him out of the hotel? What if Noa or someone else recognizes him?" Jounouchi screeched, then he clamped a hand over his mouth and glanced around suspiciously.

"He's wearing a disguise," Allan protested weakly.

Jounouchi raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "You mean that hat and scarf?"

"Hey, you try keeping Yuuki Tatsuya under house arrest for two weeks. If I don't come out with him once in awhile, he'll sneak out when my back is turned."

Jounouchi cringed. He remembered the hobby store incident after the qualifiers were finished. Allan was beyond pissed off when Jounouchi told him that he saw Yuuki at the shopping center's hobby store.

"How about we split up and look for him?" he offered. "I'm trying to find Kaiba anyway."

"So yours ran off too, huh?"

Jounouchi fought the heat rising in his cheeks at the word "yours." Allan quirked his head curiously and Jounouchi knew he failed.

The older man then sighed and clasped an arm around Jounouchi's shoulder. "Are you okay? We haven't spoken since you two came by the room. That Kaiba, he did not look pleased then."

"No, he wasn't. But we worked it out. We're good, I swear." Jounouchi smiled, hoping it would ease his mentor's concern.

"I gathered, but it's still good to hear you say it. You two are doing great in the tournament, reminds me of me and Tatsuya. I'm cheering for you two."

"We'll do you proud, Chief," Jounouchi swore as pride swelled in his chest. It earned him another bright and encouraging smile.

Allan perked suddenly, straightening and dropping his arm from Jounouchi's shoulder. "Ah, speak of the devil. Here he comes. Hello, Kawaguchi."

"Don't call me that in public, Adams," Kaiba growled as he stalked over. Several people scrambled out of his path like he was a rampaging monster. He came to a stop at Jounouchi's side and brushed fingers lightly against his wrist.

"Right, oops."

"If you're looking for _him _, he was last over there," Kaiba pointed to an overlook above them. "He might still be there if you hurry."

"Thank you!" Allan exclaimed in English and dove into the crowd. Jounouchi mentally wished him the best of luck tracking down his wayward partner.

Jounouchi peered curiously up at Kaiba. It seemed out of character for Kaiba to associate willingly with his predecessor. In all the time since Kaiba found out that Yuuki Tatsuya was alive, he didn't spend any time with him beyond that first meeting.

"What were you and Yuuki-san talking about?" When Kaiba didn't immediately respond, he added, "Secret Meijin things?"

"If I said idiot builders, would you believe me?"

"No, but it's sweet of ya to say so anyway."

Kaiba scoffed, but the annoyance slipped away and left fatigue in its wake. "I've had enough of crowds. Let's go somewhere quiet."

-x-x-x-

The rest of the week followed a similar pattern. Other than several hours in the afternoon, Jounouchi saw very little of Kaiba. Most of the time, he had to resort to emails for the slightest bit of communication.

After dragging himself out of his cold and lonely bed each morning, Jounouchi went to work on the Legilis. Kaiba picked him up around one for a late lunch and they wandered the festival together for a few hours. But come evening, Kaiba took off somewhere and Jounouchi wouldn't see him again until the next day, repeating yesterday's pattern.

When asked what the hell he was doing at those times, Kaiba became incredibly tight-lipped. "Stuff," he replied sarcastically at first or used some other wicked way to distract Jounouchi from his questions. But after Jounouchi asked enough times, "stuff" became a brusque "none of your business."

Before they got together, he would have forced a confrontation, but Jounouchi was reluctant to do that now. So he tamped down on his anger and wrote off Kaiba's strange behavior as stress over the upcoming finals. Kaiba would be back to his slightly less prickly self soon. At least, Jounouchi hoped.

Yet the night before the final battle, he stood alone in Kaiba's dark and empty hotel room, fighting a rising tide of terror inside. _Kaiba's a big boy _, he told himself, _he can take care of himself. _ It wasn't as if they needed to be attached at the hip 24-7.

He called, but it went to voicemail after two rings. He sent a message next.

_Where the fuck are you?_

Jounouchi fell asleep in Kaiba's bed to an internal lullaby of "he'll be fine," surrounded by his scent. When his alarm went off in the morning, an email notification lit his phone's screen. Kaiba's reply came at almost four in the morning.

_I'll see you at the stadium. Don't be late._

-x-x-x-

PPSE's security was laughable compared to the Kaiba Corporation's. All access points were controlled by card passes, the guards made their rounds once every two hours, and no department used biometrics. How incompetent were the people placed into PPSE by Noa and Gozaburo that Kaiba had to be the one to do this?

He checked the time. It was nearly 3:20 AM. The guards weren't due to come through Technical Sciences building for another 40 minutes.

Kaiba swiped the copy he made of Yuugi's ID card, holding his breath until the light turned green. The door unlocked with a clunk, and he slipped into the data room. According to Noa's blueprints, Technical Sciences stored all its information on internal servers with no access to the outside world. It meant they couldn't be hacked from the outside.

Kaiba planted himself in front of the nearest terminal and booted it up. When the screen prompted for a password, he entered it. The password was the hardest piece of his plan to obtain. It took him three days to phish one from the Technical Sciences staff through a series of spoofed emails masked as tech support. The terminal immediately accepted the password, and a window of the internal file system popped up.

He connected his external drive and began copying everything he could fit onto the disk.

Drumming his fingers against the tabletop, he glared at the progress bar as it crawled along. A glance at the security camera in the corner confirmed that it was still recording. No matter, he would be gone before anyone noticed.

With nothing else to do, Kaiba started browsing through the files. A new project had been added to the system six days ago, labeled EMBODY. When he opened the folder, a dossier of a blond man named Nine Barthes from the Flana Institute came up. It took Kaiba several moments to remember who he was. Barthes had been Aila's handler in the competition before her defeat. As he read further and further into the file, his eyebrows crept further and further into his hairline.

Human resonance with Plavsky particles? Was that even possible? According to the information provided by Barthes, Aila Jyrkiäinen possessed the unique ability to sense the Plavsky particles in motion. The Flana Institute subsequently developed the EMBODY system to scaffold her abilities, which boasted a prediction accuracy rate of 99.97 percent. It was as good as precognition. The helmet she wore was not for costume purposes, but housed the system that projected the particle visualizations on the HUD inside. If true, this would explain her inhuman speed and unfailing intuition throughout the tournament.

But that wasn't the most troubling part. Since acquiring the project, Technical Sciences was exploring other applications, namely emotional manipulation. Pairing the system with something called the Arista was supposed to allow one person to impose their will on another. A note at the end of the file indicated they were already close to successful human trials. Unbelievable— it was something out of a science fiction novel. Kaiba was sure of one thing: this was one file that absolutely could not fall into Gozaburo's hands.

His phone beeped and Kaiba gave a start. He was reading for longer than he meant to. He had five minutes to get out.

He disconnected the drive and pocketed it. He didn't get everything, but what he did should be more than enough to entice Gozaburo's greed. Before shutting down the terminal, Kaiba snapped a photo of the file system.

He encountered no resistance on the way out, but his heart still thundered in his chest.

Back in the safety of his car, he pulled out his phone to contact Noa. When he saw Jounouchi's message, he hesitated though. Jounouchi was going to be livid with him, but Kaiba would cross that bridge if he came to it. All that mattered was he would be able to bring everything to a close tomorrow.

First, he replied to Jounouchi and then he sent Noa the photo of the PPSE terminal.

Within ten minutes, Kaiba's phone rang. He answered and said without hesitation, "If Father wants his precious secrets, he'll meet with me in person in eight hours."

Hanging up, Kaiba leaned forward to rest his forehead against the steering wheel. He squeezed his eyes shut and laughed, suddenly dizzy from vertigo. There was no turning back— this was it. All of his other preparations were in place. In eight more hours, he would finally be free of Kaiba Gozaburo one way or another.


	21. Fight for Yourself

_21: Fight for Yourself_

Don't be late, he said. Goddammit, Jounouchi was going to kick Kaiba's scrawny (and attractive) ass.

Don't be fucking late.

Well, he wasn't the one keeping a stadium of several thousand people waiting. He dialed Kaiba's number; going straight to voicemail for the sixth time. Jounouchi paced back and forth across the stage, not bothering to hide his agitation. The match should have started five minutes ago at noon, but Kaiba was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he run away because he thought he couldn't beat us?" Reiji asked as a deep, disapproving frown marred his face. On the side of the battle system, he impatiently shuffled back and forth between both feet.

No, Kaiba wouldn't do that. But at this rate, they were going to forfeit the match by absence. Jounouchi clutched his phone harder, willing a call or message from his fighter.

"I don't think Kawaguchi-san is that kind of person," Sei replied as he turned his worried expression on Jounouchi. "He'll come."

But as the seconds slipped away, Jounouchi began to doubt that himself.

A chime sounded through the arena before the female announcer's dulcet tone followed, "We apologize to our honored guests. Due to technical difficulties, the final match of the world championship will be postponed—"

The rest of her sentence was lost in an earsplitting crackle that drove everyone in attendance to clamp hands over their ears. The overhead screens that displayed the match lineup went black before they were replaced by a new image: a tense scene where Kaiba and Noa glared at each other. The camera shot was wide, capturing the entirety of the small room within the frame. Kaiba wore his Meijin costume without the sunglasses, revealing his piercing blue gaze to the world. Noa sat primly in an identical teal love-seat opposite Kaiba, straight-backed and snooty looking.

A quick glance at the seat that Noa had previously occupied during Kaiba's other battles confirmed his absence. Jounouchi's heart sped up as yesterday's terror resurfaced. Meanwhile, low and confused murmurs swept through the stadium crowd. Sei and Reiji moved to Jounouchi's side, and all three of them watched the video together in mute bewilderment.

The door slid open and an older man with a salt and pepper mustache, decked out in a bespoke suit and carrying an exquisite-looking cane, walked in. His face was set in a permanent scowl, and he carried himself as if he knew he owned the world. Noa stood automatically and bowed to the new arrival, but Kaiba remained seated with his face schooled in a bored expression.

"Who's that?" Reiji asked.

Jounouchi's heart plummeted into his feet as he responded, "That's Kaiba Gozaburo."

Gozaburo lowered himself into the seat vacated by Noa, while the eldest Kaiba brother stood behind their father like a sentinel.

"You're late," Kaiba's voice boomed through the arena.

Jounouchi and half the audience startled at the sound.

Gozaburo chuckled, sweeping his gaze up and down Kaiba's Meijin uniform. The sounds sent shivers down Jounouchi's spine. Could the son of a bitch get any slimier? "Eager to get back to your war games, Seto?"

With his cool finally unraveling, Kaiba gritted his teeth and spat, "I did as you asked, I stole the data you wanted from PPSE's Technical Sciences division."

Kaiba's admission wrung a unified and shocked gasp from the arena, Jounouchi included.

"You were sloppy. My people on the inside had to scrub the footage of your break-in from their security system," Gozaburo scolded Kaiba like he was a small child. "Now give me everything you have."

This was bad. This was really bad. Kaiba was being set up— or Jounouchi really hoped he was. Frantically, Jounouchi tried to determine where they were based on the background details. But there was no telling if the video was streaming live or if it had been taken hours ago. Jounouchi held his breath, waiting for Kaiba to fight back— to do anything but obey like a dog with its tail between its legs.

Kaiba struggled to recompose himself before sneering and throwing a small black device at Noa, who caught it in mid-air. The three men remained silent as Noa plugged the drive into his phone and browsed through the files. He frowned when he reported, "These are partial files."

"I want reassurances before I give you the rest," Kaiba declared in an icy tone. This was not a side of Kaiba that Jounouchi had seen since he first came to PPSE. This Kaiba was like a virtual stranger.

"Don't be stupid, Seto, we're family—" Noa started to berate, but he was cut off.

Kaiba glared at his older brother. "No, you made me complicit in another man's murder. I won't have that coming back on Mokuba and myself later."

Gozaburo barked, "Stupid boy, I merely humored you by meeting with you. You have no bargaining power."

"Then you'll humor me further. I have the files you want, and without them, you won't be able to uncover the secrets of manufacturing the Plavsky particles."

"That is not how the arrangement works, Seto. You do as you're told, and I allow you to continue to be your precious Meijin." Gozaburo leaned forward with his cane between his legs and sneered, "Don't forget that I hold all the cards: your livelihood, Mokuba, and your freedom. Cross me and I will not hesitate to take any one of them away from you."

"Do those cards include my life? When I'm finally of no use to you, will I also meet with an 'unfortunate accident' like my predecessor?" Kaiba cocked his head to one side as he issued his challenge. Not a hint of fear showed on his face, but Jounouchi wanted to throttle him. Kaiba lifted his stubborn chin and declared, "I won't be as easy to put down."

The arena roared in outrage.

Sei turned his horrified expression toward Jounouchi. "Wait, is Kawaguchi-san implying that this Kaiba Gozaburo killed the previous Meijin?"

Jounouchi nodded dumbly. Never mind the fact that Yuuki Tatsuya wasn't actually dead. But Gozaburo and the rest of the world didn't know that.

On screen, Gozaburo guffawed. "How many times must I beat this lesson in for you, Seto? You continue to harbor these delusions that you can defeat me. If I can crush the third Meijin Kawaguchi from within the secure confines of PPSE, destroying you will be far easier. You are _nothing _ without the Kaiba name— my name."

Jounouchi's phone buzzed in his hand, and he jumped at the sudden sensation. Yuugi was calling, but he couldn't bring himself to pick up. He looked out at the stadium crowd, where a multitude of phones were being held up and aimed at the video screens. People were taking pictures and recording this, maybe even live streaming it online. The realization struck Jounouchi like a bolt of lightning— Kaiba did this. He had turned their audience of several thousand Gunpla fans into unwitting witnesses to Gozaburo's confession.

The two men in the video locked eyes and glared witheringly at each other. It was uncomfortable how alike Kaiba and his father looked when they wore the same expression. Their battle of wills was cut short by a shrill ring. Kaiba pulled out his phone and read something hidden from Gozaburo and the rest of the audience on his screen. His glower slowly melted into a sly grin as the rest of the tension bled from his body.

"Your threats might carry more weight if you had actually succeeded," Kaiba smirked and leaned back in his seat like a cat.

Gozaburo narrowed his eyes, obviously confused by the change in Kaiba's body language. "What are you blathering about?"

"You failed to kill Meijin Kawaguchi the Third. He's still alive." Kaiba angled his body to face the camera and looked straight at the audience.

Jounouchi's heart nearly stopped. The video must be broadcasting live. Kaiba was somewhere in the stadium with Gozaburo and Noa. As soon as they found out what Kaiba was doing, there was no telling to how they'd react. Or how they might hurt Kaiba. The thought paralyzed him with fear.

A hand landed on Jounouchi's shoulder, setting off his fighting instincts. He spun around and knocked the hand away before realizing who it was. "Yuuki-san?"

The Yuuki that joined them on stage wore a dark, fitted suit with a red tie; his hair hung loose with a pair of sunglasses balanced right above his forehead. He wasn't trying to disguise himself like in months past. Several feet behind him, Allan, dressed in his PPSE uniform, hung back with a solemn expression.

"Yuuki-senpai, what are you doing here?" Sei exclaimed. Reiji stared with a gaping mouth and wide eyes.

While holding Jounouchi's gaze, Yuuki lowered the sunglasses and pushed back his hair into its trademark Meijin style. "I'll take care of things here. Go find Kaiba-kun," he commanded. As he drew himself to his full height, authority oozed from his every pore. He appeared herculean even though he was no taller than Jounouchi.

Jounouchi didn't need any more encouragement after that.

The sounds of the bewildered crowd followed Jounouchi into the depths of the stadium. He needed to find Kaiba now, even if it meant individually searching every room in the building. He was going to pummel Kaiba for keeping this setup from him. But first, Jounouchi would have to rescue his partner from Gozaburo and from Kaiba's own damn self.

-x-x-x-

Out of the corner of his eyes, Kaiba watched as Noa turned away to take a call. With a growing sense of satisfaction, he noted the sudden tensing in his brother's shoulders and the sharp and almost alarmed tone he spoke into the phone. By now, Noa must have been alerted to the fact that Mokuba was no longer under Daimon's watch. There was no need to continue the farce for much longer.

Furious that his attention had wandered, Gozaburo slammed the point of his cane down and roared, "You can't fool me with your lies, boy. I don't know what game you're trying to play—"

"Whether you believe me or not, Father, it's the truth," he laughed. He could taste his victory and he knew Yuuki would reveal himself in his own time. "And now everyone also knows what you did."

Gozaburo's face tinted red with rage, his knuckles turning white as he squeezed his hand around the head of his cane. "What have you done?"

Slowly, Kaiba's smile widened to the point where his cheeks began to hurt. "I've been broadcasting this conversation to the PPSE stadium since the beginning. You can thank Noa for that, he gave me the idea when he had the nerve to bug my room. By now, hundreds of thousands, if not, millions of people around the world have bore witness to your confessions."

Noa ended his call and moved to their father's side. "Father, we should leave now," he urged and pulled Gozaburo to his feet.

In return, Gozaburo shook off Noa's grip and pushed him back. "I will not run from this brat. If he thinks I will crumble so easily in the face of baseless accusations—"

"Mokuba's gone," Noa threw a pointed look at Kaiba. "I don't know what happened, but given the circumstances, Seto must be responsible."

Unable to keep his victory to himself, he showed them the photo that his English contact emailed him minutes ago. It was a selfie of a smiling Mokuba with Julian Mackenzie, a former British Gunpla champion not attending this year's tournament, and another teenage girl with blond hair and freckles in front of the Tower of London. "Mokuba is safe and out of your reach. I'm going to make sure neither of you ever see or touch him again for the rest of your lives," he gloated.

"You would dare turn your back on your family like this? We made you who you are. If you think you can go back to playing Meijin after this—"

"Once again, you underestimate me," Kaiba shot to his feet and turned toward the hidden camera again. "As of this moment, I resign from the position of Meijin Kawaguchi. My predecessor can have it back if he wishes. I never intended to keep it after learning he was still alive. That's why you lost to me, _Father _. You counted on me being as selfish and self-interested as you, but I'd rather be 'nothing' than be you. My worth will not be determined by the Meijin title or the Kaiba name. You no longer have any power over me."

Kaiba had won, and Gozaburo knew it too.

The twitch spasming through Gozaburo's hand was his only warning. Kaiba grunted, using his forearm to block the strike of his father's cane. A stinging lance of pain raced through his arm and rattled his bones. He gritted his teeth through the pain and grabbed the other end of the wood. Before he could wrench the weapon from Gozaburo's grasp, his muscles seized and he gave a cry as pain coursed through his entire body. Kaiba dropped to his knees, unable to release the cane. Every second that the electric shock flowed into him felt like an eternity.

When the distressing combination of numbness and pain finally ended, he was no shape to block the next blow aimed at his ribs. He inhaled sharply and doubled over in pain again.

"Father, stop it!" Noa screamed somewhere above him.

"You ungrateful brat, I'll make you regret ever being born."

Another lash fell across his exposed back, driving the breath from his lungs and making his head spin. At least the broadcast was still running, Gozaburo was only digging himself into a deeper hole by losing his temper. He really was like a child throwing a temper tantrum. Kaiba braced for the next attack that never came.

"Get away from him, you motherfucker!"

Jounouchi's familiar and brash voice was like a balm for Kaiba's frazzled nerves. But the relief was short-lived, because Jounouchi wasn't supposed to be here and he wasn't supposed to be in the line of Gozaburo's wrath. He struggled to lift his heavy head in time to see Jounouchi knock the cane away and tackle the older man to the floor.

Gozaburo may have more formal training, but Jounouchi had the element of surprise and an abundance of youth and energy to compensate for what he lacked. They grappled on the floor for several moments as Kaiba caught his breath. Winding back a fist, Jounouchi landed a punch in the center of Gozaburo's face, breaking his father's nose with a sickening crunch.

Kaiba couldn't help but laugh. Considering that his father had tasered him and threatened to murder him on multiple occasions, a mere broken nose made rather poor payback. The sound finally shook Noa out of his shell-shocked state. He grabbed Jounouchi in a sliding collar lock and hauled him off Gozaburo. Still kicking and flailing, Jounouchi snarled and snapped with all the bloodthirstiness of an ex-gang member. In that moment, Kaiba believed he could and would grievously injure or kill Gozaburo.

Jounouchi was magnificent.

Jounouchi spat down at Gozaburo. "Fucking cocksucker, I'll kill you for laying a hand on him like that."

Noa tightened his grip, changing it into a choke-hold. Jounouchi fought the hold harder.

"Stop it, Jounouchi, you'll hurt yourself," Kaiba huffed breathlessly. He slowly climbed to his feet, gripping his aching side and hoping he wasn't nursing a broken rib. He gave Noa a withering look, "You'll have to release him if you wish to make your escape before the authorities arrive."

The door slid open to reveal Baker flanked by security personnel. "No one is going anywhere."

The black-suited men swarmed into the room, and Noa released Jounouchi to raise both arms in surrender. Noa, at least, knew when he was beaten. Gozaburo continued to bluster even as two of the guards each took him by the arms and restrained him.

"Checkmate, Gozaburo," he proclaimed and committed the man's indignant reaction to memory. Then he turned to his older brother and said, "I was also able to locate the transmitter for your bugs, Noa. You should have secured it and your cloud storage better. I've erased your blackmail material."

Noa hung his head in defeat as he was led out of the room. Gozaburo was dragged behind him, and soon the only people left in the room were Baker, Jounouchi, and himself.

Baker redirected her icy displeasure in his direction. "Kawaguchi-san, please discontinue your broadcast. Our techs are having trouble getting around your program."

He briefly contemplated denying her request, but it wasn't in his best interest to antagonize his former employer further. While he may have demonstrated duress, he had technically committed a crime by breaking into company grounds and stealing confidential information. PPSE could still decide to press charges against him. But now with both Gozaburo and Noa in custody, that act of the drama was over. He had confidence that the audience would spread their grainy recordings all over the web and slaughter Gozaburo in the court of public opinion. He flicked through several screens on his phone and deactivated the Trojan hijacking the stadium's audiovisual system. Armed with the knowledge that the camera was no longer running, Kaiba felt the last of his strength flee. He wobbled on his feet.

Jounouchi ran to his side, gingerly slinging an arm around his waist and supporting his weight. "Are you okay?"

He buried his face in Jounouchi's hair and inhaled the familiar scent of the hotel's shampoo. He sank into his relief. "I'll be fine."

Jounouchi's reply was thready, his tone excruciating. "Good, because I'm going to kick your ass after you get better again. Don't you ever pull a stunt like this again without telling me first."

The grip on his waist tightened almost imperceptibly.

"I love you too," he whispered to Jounouchi, lips barely moving against the crown of his golden head. He didn't know what drove him to confess there and now. Maybe it was the possibly broken rib or the heady taste of freedom. But Kaiba meant every word, and he wouldn't take them back for the world.


	22. Temporary Ceasefire

_22: Temporary Ceasefire_

* * *

"I already resigned," Kaiba blinked, then shook his head in disbelief.

While he was glad not to be behind bars like Gozaburo and Noa, he never imagined the Chairman would pull him aside and try to convince him to fight in the rescheduled match. Judging by the disapproval radiating from Baker, she wasn't enthused by the idea either.

"You can't!" Mashita screeched at the top of his lungs. "You need to defeat Iori Sei and Reiji!"

Baker tried to cajole him. "Chairman, that may not be the best idea. It would not reflect well on PPSE or the tournament if we allow _him _to continue to compete. He almost did irreparable damage to the company by colluding with Kaiba Gozaburo!"

"It's okay, Baker-chan. Kaiba-kun didn't mean to harm the company. You didn't actually turn any confidential information over, did you?" Mashita turned large puppy dog eyes from his executive assistant to Kaiba.

He cringed, but shook his head. Baker had immediately recovered the drive of partial files from Noa, and Kaiba had handed over his remaining copy after she demanded them.

"See?" Mashita whined. "He has to fight tomorrow. Reiji cannot win this tournament!"

Kaiba just liberated himself from the clutches of one master; he wasn't going to be a puppet in Mashita's game either. "No, I still refuse. I don't know what personal vendetta you have against Iori Sei and Reiji, but I want no part in it," he growled.

Under the table, Jounouchi laced his fingers with Kaiba's and squeezed gently.

"Wha— what— what do you mean?" Mashita stuttered.

"We know you've been gunning for them since the start of the tournament. Man up and take responsibility for your actions!" Jounouchi snapped. It appeared he was finally fed up with his boss' pathetic simpering.

He brushed a thumb across the inside of Jounouchi's wrist, hoping the touch would calm his sudden ire.

Baker stepped toward the table and clenched her fists. "You can't talk to the Chairman like that. You are a PPSE employee, Jounouchi-san, remember your place."

Jounouchi shot her a dirty look before declaring, "Fine, I quit then."

"Jounouchi—" Kaiba started, creasing his brow in concern.

"Shut it, Seto. I know what I'm doing."

Kaiba wasn't half as confident about that as Jounouchi seemed.

Jounouchi returned his attention to his former bosses, giving them each the evil eye. "Now that neither of us are PPSE employees anymore, you can't keep us here and you can't force us to do anything."

Mashita sweated profusely. "But— but— but—"

"Fine," Baker said, brimming with authority, and pushed her glasses up the length of her nose. "Security will escort you off the premises and you will vacate your rooms in the player village within the hour. We will be conducting a more extensive investigation of both your conducts once the tournament is over."

Kaiba pushed his seat back and stood. He defiantly met her cold, calculating stare. "I have nothing to hide. You know where to find me."

Without letting go of Jounouchi's hand, Kaiba led them straight for the exit. As the door closed behind them, he heard Baker say, "Don't worry, Chairman. We can still use Meijin Kawaguchi the Third."

-x-x-x-

The entire experience felt surreal, like Jounouchi was dreaming. Working for PPSE had been his dream job after meeting Allan. Now he'd tossed it aside without a second thought.

Baker's security goons followed them back to the hotel and stood guard as they packed their belongings. Jounouchi half-expected them to demand the PPSE uniform off his back. If they did, he would have stripped down and returned it with more than a bit of self-satisfaction. His hackles rose when the goons confiscated Kaiba's laptop, but he stopped short of kicking up a fuss when Kaiba shook his head. Jounouchi clutched the Legilis' case to his chest and fought down the possessiveness bubbling up.

In the end, he relinquished both the Gunpla and its remaining spare parts. They were PPSE's property, and Jounouchi would build something even better for his fighter.

One of the burly security men tailed them all the way to the parking lot where Kaiba's car, a dark blue sedan, waited. They stowed their combined luggage in the trunk, one duffel bag and one rolling suitcase, without exchanging words. Inside the vehicle, Jounouchi finally dared to reach over and brush his fingertips against Kaiba's cheek. The touch was brief, but it seemed enough because Kaiba gave a weary not-quite-a-smirk, but also not-quite-a-smile.

They drove in silence with the windows down and the summer breeze running through their hair. Racing across the bay, Jounouchi watched the stadium fade into the distance through the rear-view mirror. There was no reason to feel sad about the departure; he'd be back one way or another. Yet something sharp pricked his heart. Unexpectedly, his eyes met Kaiba's blue gaze in the mirror and the words he wanted to say curled in his throat and died a slow death.

_I love you too. _ Jounouchi tried calm his racing heartbeat. He told himself not to think too hard about it. Kaiba was probably woozy from the pain Gozaburo had inflicted on him. Jounouchi shouldn't dwell on it.

The part of Shizuoka currently zipping past was more developed than Jounouchi's neighborhood. A number of newer apartment buildings lined the main street alongside trendy shops and restaurants. It wasn't necessarily upscale, but it was meant to attract younger working people in their 20s and 30s to the area. After a few blocks, they pulled into an underground garage beneath a sleek-looking building and straight into a vacant parking spot by the elevator.

Kaiba didn't bother to retrieve their bags from the trunk and headed straight for the elevator. Jounouchi scrambled to follow, relieved when Kaiba held the door up for him. He picked at the hem of his uniform jacket as they ascended to the eighth floor. Several doors from the elevator, Kaiba stopped and rummaged for his keys. The nameplate besides the door was blank.

As he inserted the key into the knob, Kaiba cleared his throat and spoke for what felt like the first time in hours. "I can take you home if you'd rather."

Not trusting his voice, Jounouchi shook his head. He wasn't ready to leave Kaiba right now.

Kaiba pushed the door open and sidestepped to allow Jounouchi to enter first. Knowing how rare a courteous Kaiba was, Jounouchi stepped inside the apartment without needing to be told twice. It was larger than his place, but only by a small margin. The living room, on the other hand, seemed a lot bigger because Kaiba didn't have clutter overtaking the space. The furnishing, though tasteful, was sparse and impersonal. Jounouchi winced when the door closed with a loud snick behind him.

Turning to Kaiba, he mumbled, "It's nice." Then he cringed at how asinine he sounded.

"I thought you'd have more to say considering how you were pestering me last week," Kaiba diverted his gaze and smoothed out nonexistent wrinkles in the Meijin's overcoat. Then glancing toward the exposed kitchen, he asked hesitantly, "Uh, do you want something— anything?"

Jounouchi cracked a smile, moved by Kaiba's sudden display of awkwardness. "You don't usually have people over, do you?"

"Other than Yuugi, no. Never mind. Make yourself comfortable, I'll get some tea."

Jounouchi took a seat on the couch and listened as Kaiba rummaged around in the kitchen. He was tempted to turn on the TV for some noise, but the rudeness prompted him to reconsider. Someone's phone began to ring. Jounouchi didn't recognize the ringtone, so he knew it wasn't his. He rotated around to watch Kaiba regard his cellphone with an expression of dread.

"Do you mind if I take this?" Kaiba asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.

Jounouchi shrugged. This was Kaiba's home; he could hardly dictate what Kaiba chose to do or not do.

"Nii-sama!" A cheerful male voice filled the apartment.

Kaiba's gloom instantly morphed into excitement, causing Jounouchi's heart to skip a beat. Jounouchi rose and moved toward the kitchen area. He reasoned that Kaiba would shoo him away if he wanted his privacy.

"Why are you calling from Rebecca's number? Are you in some sort of trouble?" Kaiba hefted the phone up to better frame himself in the video call.

"Don't worry, we're all safe at Julian's. His granddad's house is huge! I think it's even bigger than the Kaiba mansion back home!"

Doing his best to keep himself out of the shot, Jounouchi tried to catch a glimpse of Kaiba's little brother. As the media tended to steer clear of the two younger Kaiba brothers, the only photo Jounouchi had found of Kaiba Mokuba dated almost six years ago. It was an uncomfortable family photo of the Kaiba family attending a formal event, where the then-eight-year-old Mokuba half-hid behind a stiff-looking Kaiba. The teenager gushing on the video was a blessed far-cry from that timid boy. Seeing him safe and boisterous like this lifted a weight that Jounouchi never noticed before from his shoulders.

Kaiba's lips curled up in his version of a fond smile— something that Jounouchi had seen directed at himself recently. "I'm relieved to hear you're safe, Mokuba. Don't make trouble for the Mackenzies in the meanwhile. I'll do my best to bring you back to Japan as soon as possible."

He tried to angle himself for a better view, but shrunk back when he saw wisps of his blond hair creep in from the edge of the video. Kaiba glanced sideways at him and then rolled his eyes. Jounouchi squawked as Kaiba grabbed his wrist and dragged him into the camera's view. When he tried to wiggle away, Kaiba tightened his vice grip and drew Jounouchi closer until they stood side-by-side. They were close enough for their shoulders to brush against each other, but not so close that it might imply something more intimate. On second thought, Jounouchi was less sure about that second part given Mokuba's poleaxed expression. He waved weakly and mutely at the screen with his free hand. Kaiba held the other one outside of the frame.

"Who is he?" Mokuba demanded.

"This is Jounouchi."

Kaiba caressed the back of his hand, and Jounouchi shivered from both the sensation and the sound of his name on Kaiba's lips.

"Oh, you're Nii-sama's builder!" Mokuba exclaimed as a sunny smile broke over his features. Damn, was this kid really related to Kaiba? He was so damn cheerful. "Nice to meet you, Jounouchi. I hope we get the chance to meet after I come home. I want to thank you in person for helping my brother all this time."

Jounouchi cast his eyes down at his shoes. Oops, he forgot to take those off. "It's my pleasure," he gritted through his uncooperative mouth.

Turning his attention back to Kaiba, Mokuba gnawed on his bottom lip. "Are you okay though, Nii-sama? I saw videos of what Father did to you. Did he really do all those things?"

"Mokuba, he may be our father, but Gozaburo was not a good man," Kaiba sighed, but the muscles through Kaiba's entire arm tensed.

"I'm not a little kid. I already knew that." Mokuba snapped before he caught himself. "Don't worry, I'm on your side."

"Thank you, little brother."

Kaiba and Mokuba chatted for another few minutes. Jounouchi would have let them have their privacy, but Kaiba refused to release him no matter how he tried to tug his hand away. He awkwardly counted the streaks in the wooden floor and waited for the conversation to end. Finally, the two brothers bid each other farewell and promised to call again tomorrow.

But before Mokuba hung up, he looked directly at Jounouchi one more time. "Jounouchi," Still no honorific of any sort, but Mokuba was Kaiba's brother. "Thank you again for protecting Nii-sama from Father. You should have hit him a few more times though."

Jounouchi laughed as the call ended abruptly. "Oh my god, he's really your kid brother!"

Kaiba shot him an annoyed glare. "Was there ever any doubt?"

"No, I guess not. You really love him." Feeling strained and stretched, Jounouchi's smile faltered on his lips. He did his best to buoy it.

"I do."

After several moments of meeting Kaiba's gaze, Jounouchi broke eye contact with his heart pounding in his ears. When the fuck did he get this shy? He wasn't a teenager anymore. But Kaiba was a whole different kind of beast. He was nothing like anyone Jounouchi had dated or fooled around with. Kaiba was... Kaiba.

"Jounouchi."

Fucking Kaiba using his name like a command, and fuck if Jounouchi didn't snap to attention like a well-trained dog. Kaiba tilted his chin up and frowned. Jounouchi's emotions were such a tangled mess that he didn't know what he felt, much less what Kaiba apparently saw.

"Regardless of the circumstances, I meant what I said earlier," Kaiba said, suddenly looking uncomfortable.

After a day full of adrenaline, he was finally crashing. Shit, Kaiba looked twice as run down. Confused, Jounouchi blinked blearily in response. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

Kaiba's mouth thinned with disapproval. "Why are you so stupid?"

"Hey! You don't have to be an asshole about it. I'm not a fucking mind-reader. You can't expect me—" Jounouchi stung from hurt and rejection. God, Kaiba sometimes really pissed him off with that hot-cold attitude of his. He would have moved away if Kaiba hadn't captured his wrist with one hand and his chin with the other. He'd probably punch him lightly for good measure.

"You're important to me," Kaiba growled, cutting off the rest of his tirade. "As important as Mokuba."

His brain came to a screeching halt. Mokuba, Kaiba's little brother whom they just established he loved— Jounouchi was on par with Mokuba, who Kaiba loved. That meant that Kaiba loved him too, which was exactly what he said earlier. His thoughts continued to run in circles around that one idea.

"Fuck," he muttered, feeling his face grow warm.

"There we go."

Jounouchi sucked in a large breath of air in preparation to further berate Kaiba for his infuriating ways. But as soon as he opened his mouth to yell, Kaiba's tongue wormed its way past his teeth to stroke Jounouchi's tongue. He moaned under the onslaught of sensation, grabbing fistfuls of the Meijin overcoat to pull the other man closer. Damn, Kaiba kept improving every time they kissed. At this rate, Jounouchi was going to become putty in his hands. Whatever. Jounouchi was done with thinking. He melted into Kaiba's kisses, returning each one with equal passion.

"Will you stay the night?" Kaiba asked, eyes bright and lips skimming over Jounouchi's cheek.

He shivered and snuck a hand under Kaiba's coat. "Like you could get rid of me."

Kaiba seemed pleased by the idea.

-x-x-x-

Less than twenty-four hours after their ejection, Kaiba and Jounouchi walked the familiar halls of the PPSE stadium again. Kaiba almost thought security might materialize out of thin air and eject them as soon as they set foot on the property. Of course, they didn't. They were less likely to draw attention in their "civvies," as Jounouchi jokingly called their out-of-work attire earlier.

"I wonder what Mashita promised Yuuki-san to get him to agree," Jounouchi wondered out loud.

"I'd hazard to guess nothing. Yuuki wants to battle Iori and Sei."

But it was a wonder that PPSE managed to reschedule the final match so soon. They were probably desperate for something new to distract the media from yesterday's fiasco. Speculation was running rampant, but Kaiba resisted reading too much into it.

When they entered the fighter's observation room, the only other occupants were Luang Dallara and Rainer Cziommer. Dallara nodded politely in acknowledgement, while Cziommer avoided meeting his gaze. That was fine by Kaiba. He wasn't here to socialize. Jounouchi wanted to watch the battle in person, and they would leave afterwards.

Iori and Reiji emerged first from one side of the arena. The tiny amount of guilt inside Kaiba eased when he saw their confident strides and excited faces. They were probably more eager than before to battle Yuuki after learning he was actually the third Meijin. Kaiba would have other opportunities to battle them by earning his own way through.

"We now begin the final match of the Gunpla Battle Championship World Tournament," the announcer spoke as a lone figure stepped out into the arena's bright lighting.

"What the hell is with the costume change?" Jounouchi asked incredulously.

In addition to the usual Meijin outfit, a long red scarf was wrapped around Yuuki's neck, flying like a war banner as he approached the battle system. His sunglasses' lens was similarly tinted red, and it sported added bits that wrapped around his cheeks and over his forehead. With a robotic mannerism, Yuuki set a new Gunpla with a macabre black and red color scheme on the console.

Something was off. Judging by all the confused expressions and gaping mouths, most people in the audience sensed it on some level. For Kaiba, the empty spot behind Yuuki Tatsuya, where Allan Adams should stand, was the clincher.


	23. Victory Condition

_23: Victory Condition_

* * *

"Move dammit!" Reiji's tortured scream echoed through the stadium.

A shiver raced down Jounouchi's spine as he watched Reiji jerk his controls to no avail. The Star Build Strike stayed dark, rendered immobile against the wall by the Exia Dark Matter's two GN blades staked through its right shoulder joint and its chest piece respectively. Jounouchi tensed as the Exia wound back one fist and slammed it into the other Gunpla's head piece.

While watching Yuuki's Exia Dark Matter methodically pound Reiji and Sei's Gunpla into a smear against the wall, a sick emotion roiled in his stomach. When the open space field had changed into the cramped corridor that herded the team toward a dead end, Jounouchi knew it was Mashita's interference once again. But why was Yuuki going along with it? His actions now went against everything he'd preached for the last three years.

This man was nothing like the one Jounouchi admired.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he glanced at Kaiba, who watched the battle with a troubled but thoughtful expression. Scratch that, he was busy watching Yuuki instead of the one-sided fight on the battlefield.

Jounouchi risked a glance. The sunglasses— the prongs sticking out from under Yuuki's wild mane were glowing red. That wasn't normal, was it?

"Jounouchi, we need to go," Kaiba said before gliding out of the room.

In the hall outside, Jounouchi asked, "But what about Yuuki-san? That's not like him. He wouldn't fight like that—"

"I believe Mashita has brainwashed him," Kaiba folded his arms over his chest. "If I'm right, that was the Embody system in play."

Jounouchi's jaw dropped. Whatever he expected Kaiba to say, that wasn't it. And for him to say it so matter-of-factly... "Embody?"

"I read some of the files that I took from PPSE," Kaiba admitted. "One of them was about something called the Embody system. It was originally developed to work for Aila Jyrkiäinen. Remember how she went berserk during her fight with Ricardo Fellini and later Iori and Sei? I believe she was under the influence of the system then. The helmet that she wore throughout the tournament was a part of that system. The mask that Yuuki is wearing right now must function in a similar way."

Jounouchi clenched his fists and vowed to beat Mashita into a pulp. "If the mask is what's controlling him, I'll go rip it off." He was already in the news for yesterday's fiasco. What was the shame in making another big scene if he could help a friend? But Kaiba stopped him with a hand on his elbow.

"Think, Jounouchi," Kaiba hissed. "The Embody system is directly affecting Yuuki's consciousness. If you interrupt the process without properly shutting the system down first, it could do him great harm. We don't understand enough about how it works to take that risk."

"I'm not going to stand around and do nothing!" Jounouchi roared.

Kaiba narrowed his eyes and corrected him, "_We _are going to do something. It's a system, so someone has their finger on the button. We just need to find and stop him."

"Mashita is probably watching from his VIP box."

With this stunt, the CEO officially crossed the line. Mind control was unforgivable. Someone, namely Jounouchi, would have to teach him a lesson he won't soon forget.

"No, Mashita isn't the one with his finger on the button. He's not technically inclined enough, and I doubt he'd get his own hands dirty. But whoever it is, they'll be close by. What I previously read said the system doesn't have much range at this time and needs to be activated within 50 meters of the control target."

"We should start with the green rooms on Yuuki-san's side of the arena!"

Jounouchi sent a silent prayer for Reiji and Sei, hoping they'd be able to hold on until he and Kaiba could locate the puppet master.

They started on opposite ends of the hall and worked their way toward the center. With each empty room that Jounouchi peeked in, he grew increasingly agitated and furious. How dare Mashita resort to such dirty tricks? It was a good thing he already quit, because it was going to save them the trouble of firing him when he knocked the CEO's teeth in.

In the middle of the corridor, Jounouchi finally found a door that refused to open. He waved his company badge over the scanner and it returned a "DENIED" error. He pressed his ear against the metal, straining to hear inside.

"Increase the system's output!" Mashita's familiar voice commanded.

He banged on the door and screamed, "Who's in there?"

A loud crash sounded on the other side, followed by Allan's shout of "Jounouchi!" cut short.

"Kaiba! Over here!" Jounouchi called to his partner before squaring his shoulder and ramming it against the door. "Fuck!" He gritted his teeth through the pain coursing through his arm and shoulder.

Before he could try again, Kaiba pulled him back and snapped, "Stop it, you'll hurt yourself." Instead, he held a blank card up to the reader and the door unlocked.

"How?"

"I copied Yuugi's credentials for the break-in. I guess they haven't figured it out yet," Kaiba said as he brushed past Jounouchi to enter the green room.

The television inside was tuned to the broadcast of the battle in the arena. Allan, three security goons, and a third blond man were entangled in a mass of flailing and punching limbs on the couch. Jounouchi leapt into the fray without a second thought, tearing one goon off Allan and knocking him back. He managed to hit the other goon in the gut, knocking the air from his lungs. The final goon lunged at Jounouchi and he countered with a hard blow across his jaw. This left Allan and the blond man who had been Aila's handler fighting for control of a laptop.

"Turn off the Embody system, Barthes," Kaiba growled as he stalked closer.

"Stay out of this. It's none of your business."

Barthes groaned when Allan viciously yanked his bangs, nearly tearing the fistful of hair from their roots. It gave Allan the opening he needed to wrestle the device out of Barthes' grip. When Barthes tried to take a flying leap at Allan, Kaiba intercepted and pushed him back into the couch, pinning him with a judo hold.

With a heaving chest, Allan demanded, "How do I turn it off?"

"It's the Meijin's own fault," Barthes spat, and then gasped when Kaiba tightened his grip. "If he did as the Chairman requested, none of this would be necessary."

Jounouchi and the three security goons circled each other, searching for an opening. He hoped that Allan and Kaiba would be able to deactivate the Embody soon, because he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold them off. It had been years since he tried to take this many opponents at once. The fact the he now spent most of his time behind a workbench didn't improve his odds either. Using his speed to his advantage, Jounouchi dodged what hits he could and rolled with the punch when he couldn't. So far, he had been able to hold them off and forced them to attack one at time to keep from descending into a full-on brawl.

Suddenly, the goons shifted their attention to the television screen with palpable worry. Even Kaiba, Allan, and Barthes went quiet in the background.

On the TV broadcast, the Star Build Strike, infused with the ethereal glow of the Plavsky particles, charged forward and drove both fists straight into the Exia Dark Matter's beam sabers. An explosion of light erupted through the Exia's back, shattering its black and red facade to reveal its true white and blue form. Everyone in the room paused in the middle of their scuffles to watch the two Gunplas plunge from the air. The battlefield was already fading as the particles dispensed. On the console's surface, the Star Build Strike jerked to a standing position and pumped one triumphant arm into the air.

"The winner of the final round of the 7th Gunpla Battle Championship World Tournament is the Iori Sei and Reiji team!" The announcer declared, only to be immediately drowned out by the crowd's cheering. The camera panned in Yuuki, who had collapsed after the battle's end, and Reiji and Sei, who were helping the Meijin to his feet.

For a brief moment, Jounouchi dared to let down his guard. He turned to tell Baker's security goons to scram when a series of shudders rocked the room. On screen, jets of golden Plavsky particles erupted from the arena's floor. Most startling were the crystalline structures bursting out of the walls.

"What the hell? The particles are materializing outside of the containment field!" Jounouchi exclaimed. Cold dread flooded his body. This was bad. This was too similar to what happened in the lab accident that nearly killed Yuuki some months back.

Barthes exclaimed, "The system's gone out of control!"

"Shut it down then!" Allan pointed to the laptop on the table.

Kaiba released Barthes, and Barthes threw himself at the device. After a few seconds of typing, Barthes shook his head and said, "I can't. It's too late."

-x-x-x-

Kaiba fought the sense of vertigo on his first step into the arena. His footing was solid, but there was only the never-ending void of space and distant cold stars as far as the eye could see. Out of the corner of his eyes, reality glitched— flashing distorted glimpses of stadium seating before being subsumed by black space.

Jounouchi sucked in a sharp breath. "This is insane. That's the Zeon base from _Mobile Suit Gundam _."

Further up ahead, a circle of people— including Reiji, Iori, Fellini, and Nils Nielsen— were gathered around what remained of the battle console. And in a center of their circle, the gigantic space fortress known as A Baoa Qu loomed dozens of meters in the sky, jutting through the hole in the stadium roof. The particles poured out into the atmosphere. If the particle generation and alteration rates continued at the current pace, the reaction would be unpredictable and, most likely, disastrous.

"Tatsuya!" Adams screamed and headed straight for his fighter, who was hanging back with Mashita and Baker. They immediately began working on repairs for Yuuki's Exia. Kaiba had wondered why Adams insisted on grabbing his repair kit when they left Barthes behind.

Jounouchi charged past him and grabbed Mashita by the collar. "What did you do?"

"I'm sorry!" Mashita screeched. He held up a pocket watch with a small, circular stone embedded in the cover. The stone was shining with the same golden light as the modified Plavsky particles and the crystal structures that previously materialized. "It's the Arista, I can't stop it."

Kaiba tore the watch from Mashita and examined the stone. So this was what Mashita used to resonate with the particles and control Yuuki's mind. "This can't be all. This is too small. Are you telling me that this is all that was needed to cause a chain reaction of this magnitude?"

"No," Yuuki didn't look up from his repairs as he explained. "Nielsen-kun said there's another Plavsky crystal under the stadium itself. It's enormous and has gone out for control for whatever reason. That's why they're using their Gunplas to destroy it before it can cause any further damage."

Kaiba shoved the timepiece back into Mashita's hand and said with revulsion, "This is your fault for toying with things beyond your understanding. The crystal must be resonating with your cowardice now. That's why it conjured a space fortress of all things to protect itself."

"Please just stop it! I don't care how!" Mashita whimpered.

Jounouchi dropped Mashita with a disgusted expression, and Baker immediately knelt down to comfort him. He raced over to Yuuki and Adam, asking if there was anything he could do to help. They had enough hands to work on the Exia. Kaiba turned away and approached the battle console. The machine was barely visible through the gaps in the materialization effect. The more time that passed, the more their reality underneath seemed to destabilize. On the battlefield, an army of automated Gunpla mocks flooded out of the fortress to engage the eight other Gunplas in battle. Reiji and the others were holding their own, but their enemies were never-ending and didn't tire. For every mock they defeated, another three rose in its place.

Someone approached the console at a run. At first, Kaiba thought it was Yuuki, but it was Yasaka Mao, one of the other tournament finalists. Without a second thought, he threw his Gunpla into the fray and blasted a hole into the fortress with its satellite cannon. In that instance, the battle plan was formed. Reiji, Iori, Aila, and another girl in glasses would enter A Baoa Qu with their Gunplas and make their way to the center of the fortress where the Plavsky crystal was housed. The others would continue to fight and guard the makeshift entrance to prevent the mocks from getting in the four fighters' way.

It could work if they were able to stand against the endless tides of automated mocks.

"I'm sorry, Tatsuya, but this is the best we can do on a short notice." Adam's quiet apology pulled Kaiba from his reverie.

From where he stood, the Exia looked to be in better shape. The Meijin and his builder leaned their heads together to share a few words. Jounouchi moved away to join Kaiba at the foot of the console.

"I should be able to do more," Kaiba growled as Yajima Caroline's SD Knight Gundam and Nielsen's Sengoku Astray Gundam took damage. He had worked too hard to keep Gozaburo from obtaining the Plavsky particles and weaponizing them. The idea that, despite his incompetence, Mashita might do just that infuriated him.

Jounouchi grabbed his hand and pressed something plastic and familiar into his palm. Kaiba lifted the object, eyes widening when he saw it was his 00 Qan[T].

"How?" he asked.

"I grabbed it on the way out of the apartment this morning," Jounouchi shrugged with a small smile on his lips. "Maybe it was a hunch."

Yuuki stopped at the top of the stairs and met Kaiba's eyes with determination. "Let's go, Kaiba-kun."

"Go," Jounouchi ordered before falling back and gesturing to Mashita and Baker. "The Chief and I will keep an eye on them."

He and Yuuki were barely on the field for more than a few seconds before a huge beam of energy pierced the heavens. The attack originated from inside the fortress, blowing a second hole in its hull.

"Reiji-han, Sei-han, what happened?" Yasaka exclaimed.

A video comm from Yuuki popped up on Kaiba's HUD. "We need to backup Sei-kun and Reiji-kun. Let's advance to the inside."

A portion of the mocks not destroyed by the energy attack had changed their heading for the new and larger opening.

Iori's voice crackled over the voice comms. "China-chan and Aila-san..."

Kaiba urged his 00 Qan[T] faster, keeping pace with Yuuki's Exia as they cut through waves of mocks. From the mouth of the opening, he realized they were staring down the barrel of a life-sized particle cannon. Going in with their Gunplas turned out to be the safest plan after all. There was no telling what effect a blast of that magnitude might do to the human body, but it was guaranteed to be destructive at a close range. Inside, Reiji's Star Build Strike and Iori's Build Gundam Mk-II were defending the beaten remains of Aila's Miss Sazabi and a Beargguy III.

Yuuki gave a battle-cry and charged, "Rage on, Exia! Trans-Am!"

The Exia shifted color spectrum into red, streaking like a comet down the corridor and leaving a trail of devastation in its wake. Not to be outdone, Kaiba cleaved through the new group trying to enter through the opening. He kept one ear on the conversation going behind him as he called up Sword Bits A1 and A2, directing them into two incoming mocks.

"Yuuki Tatsuya?" Reiji exclaimed with confusion coloring his words. He probably hadn't expected Yuuki to join the fight because of how damaged the Exia had been. But despite Yuuki's encouragement, the two machines hesitated to leave the girls' side.

"Leave this part to us," Yuuki insisted.

Kaiba eyed the next incoming wave. The fighters outside the fortress had already thinned the advance as best as they could. This was not the most defensible choke-point, especially given the giant cannon to their backs. But together, Yuuki and he should be able to hold the mocks off here.

"Us?" Iori asked.

They were wasting time they couldn't afford, and the particle cannon was already charging up for another attack. It meant the cannon had a cooldown of about a minute before it could fire again. Cringing softly, Kaiba realized why the weapon looked so familiar. It was based off an old Kaiba Corporation blueprint Gozaburo forced him to memorize years ago. In the end, the project was shelved when they were unable to develop a suitable battery. The schematics must have ended up as part of the virtual arsenal that PPSE used to emulate combat, except now the cannon had a reliable power source with the giant Plavsky crystal.

Just perfect.

He linked his video comm with both Reiji and Iori, and snapped, "If that cannon can fire such a powerful beam, the crystal itself must be powering it. It needs to be destroyed before the alteration effect becomes irreversible."

Kaiba didn't like the idea of leaving the final assault to Iori and Reiji, but their forces were already spread too thin. The Star Build Strike and its RG system made it particularly suited to deal with whatever remaining defenses the fortress and the crystal might muster. With all six of the Sword Bits slotted into place, he configured the GN Sword into buster rifle mode. He aimed the attack at the exposed power coupling, aborting the firing sequence and creating another opening to advance further into the heart of A Baoa Qu.

"Iori-kun, Kaiba-kun and I will protect them. Go!"

"There's no time to waste," Kaiba added before turning his buster rifle on their enemies. The next time he looked back, the Star Build Strike and Build Gundam Mk-II were gone. He'd have to trust the two teenagers to complete their mission. Taking a deep breath, he focused on the battle at hand.

-x-x-x-

The world righted itself in a blinding flash of light. Slowly, the vision of space and A Baoa Qu faded. The stadium reverted back to its original and now battered state— stress fractures running across the length of the walls and sections of seating partially collapsed. Finally, the life bled out of their Gunplas and the various bits of mocks scattered throughout the arena. The plastic models became immobile and dropped to the ground.

"They did it," Jounouchi said breathlessly.

Reiji and Iori had successfully destroyed the Plavsky crystal and reversed the alteration effect.

While everyone was enthralled by the shower of fading particles, Kaiba gave Jounouchi's hand a brief squeeze. As he opened his mouth to thank him, a high-pitched shriek broke the moment. It was Baker, and she was screaming because Mashita was glowing. The man blabbered something about not wanting to return to someplace named Arian. Baker launched herself at Mashita, and the two of them finally vanished in a cascade of red light.

"They disappeared," Adams gasped.

After getting over his initial shock, Kaiba thought good riddance. They were nothing but trouble. Judging by Jounouchi's expression, he probably thought something similar.

"Let's get to it then." Reiji declared, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"Huh? Get to what?" Iori knitted his eyebrows in confusion.

"Yuuki Tatsuya was being controlled by that bastard, Mashita. That kind of victory doesn't feel like winning," Then regarding Kaiba directly, Reiji added, "And you, Kaiba Seto, withdrew before we had a chance to fight. You both owe me and Sei a battle."

Kaiba smirked at the boy, remembering how he'd challenged Kaiba after the second round of the qualifiers. At that time, he told them to pass the qualifiers first. They did just that and so much more.

"You're really gonna fight now? And you're going to fight both of them at the same time?" Aila asked.

"No," Reiji looked meaningfully at his partner. "We'll both fight both of you, two on two."

"But I can't! My control skills are awful!" Iori protested and bit his lower lip.

"That's not true, you're not bad at all."

"Huh?"

Smiling almost sadly, Reiji turned to face Iori as he explained, "You love Gunpla so much that you were afraid of damaging them in battle. That's why you couldn't concentrate on controlling. What you're missing isn't skill, but the resolve to fight on, even if you might lose. Just like you did now when we destroyed the crystal. You can do this."

Iori surveyed the people gathered. "It's true, I've learned a lot from everyone at this tournament: Yuuki-senpai, Kaiba-san, Fellini-san, Mao-kun, Nils-kun, Aila-san, and China-chan..."

Kaiba snorted. What did he have to teach anybody? Whatever snide remark he planned to make died on his tongue when Jounouchi shook his head and stared pointedly back. Ah, that's right. Iori Sei was not the only person to have learned lessons through this tournament. They were all catalysts of each other's transformations.

"If you have all that, you can move forward, right? The particles are disappearing. We may never be able to play Gunpla Battle again. So let's fight our last battle side by side." Reiji grinned and encouraged.

Iori steeled his resolve, standing straighter. "I understand. Let's battle."

Yuuki nodded with similar determination, "Yes, let's. What do you say, Kaiba-kun?"

Kaiba agreed even before Jounouchi rested a reassuring hand on his back. It would be a shame to turn away worthy opponents for they were few and far in between. If this was going to be his last chance for Gunpla battle, then Kaiba would seize it without regret. But compared to the Star Build Strike, his and Yuuki's Gunpla took relatively minor damage.

"Here, take these," Fellini stepped up and offered both of the Wing Gundam Fenice Rinascita's arms to Reiji. Yasaka followed suit by handing over two beam rifles.

Kaiba took stock of his 00 Qan[T]. He lost four of the six Sword Bits during the battle inside A Baoa Qu, but the GN Sword itself was intact. As a result, he wouldn't be able to use the buster rifle or buster sword configuration. Glancing over at Yuuki and Adams, Kaiba knew the Exia was similarly compromised. Iori's Build Gundam Mk-II was the least damaged of the four Gunplas, but it lacked any special features to begin with. As they were, they would be evenly matched.

Kaiba and Yuuki occupied one end of the console opposite Reiji and Iori. As the battle machine booted up for the final time, Kaiba swept his gaze over the group gathered— some of whom he'd come to know better than others. But the one commonality they shared had been the force of will demonstrated today. While they may part and head separate ways in the near future, this would be one of those moments they would all be able to look back on, wouldn't it? People created bonds with one another, whether they meant to or not.

When he met Jounouchi's eyes, the builder lit up and gave him two thumbs-up. "Show them what you got," he mouthed silently.

"You ready, Meijin?" he turned his head to ask Yuuki, armed with a cocky smirk and a light heart.

Brimming with anticipation, the Meijin chortled and pushed his hair back. "Let's give it everything we have, Kaiba-kun."

Who he was today felt different from yesterday, which was different from who he was last week or the month and year before that. What he would become tomorrow or the day after was unwritten. Despite the future's uncertainty, Kaiba looked forward to discovering what came next.

-x-x-x-

Was he going to wake up at any moment and discover the entire day was nothing more than a dream?

Jounouchi stumbled out of the stadium exit in a daze, raising one arm to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight. His mind whirled, replaying all of the day's events over. Kaiba's presence was a calming counterpoint to his storm of confused thoughts. Everything felt surreal. Who would have known that day would have started with mind control and went downhill from there? Outside, a crowd of bewildered bystanders milled around the sidewalk. Jounouchi instinctively steered clear of the firefighters and police now arriving at the scene. Kaiba made no protests when Jounouchi caught his hand and led them away. Without thinking, they ended up at the nearby park, which was empty— probably because everyone was rubbernecking at the stadium.

Enveloped by the quiet, Jounouchi allowed himself to mourn. Losing the Plavsky particles was like losing an old friend. He took it for granted until it was no longer there. What was he going to do with his life now? Then a pang of guilt pricked him. Sei actually lost a friend today. While the teenager did his best to smile until the very end— sending Aila off with a message and a Gunpla— everyone understood that a now insurmountable gulf existed between here and wherever Reiji returned to. With the Plavsky crystal gone, Reiji was not likely to find his way back here again.

Jounouchi felt sad— for Sei and Reiji, for Kaiba and himself, for everyone.

He spun around to face Kaiba, who somehow managed the most neutral expression in the world. Without giving him any chance to protest, Jounouchi threw both arms around his waist and pulled him into an embrace. He closed his eyes, buried his face in Kaiba's firm shoulder, and breathed. He needed a moment. And maybe this way, he could steal of piece of Kaiba's unfaltering confidence.

Kaiba's first reaction was to stiffen, then he gradually relaxed and brought one hand up to smooth the hair at the nape of Jounouchi's neck. "What's wrong, Jounouchi?" The question was spoken tenderly and it tugged at Jounouchi's heartstrings.

"It's over, everything's gone," Jounouchi muttered into the folds of Kaiba's shirt. In response, the fingers on the back of his neck firmed their caresses.

"It's not like you to be this gloomy," Kaiba said.

Jounouchi lifted his head to give him a mortified look. "We have no jobs. It's not just us. What about Yuugi and the rest of the Works Team? Gunpla Battle is history without the Plavsky particles. How can you be so calm?"

"We have ourselves," Kaiba corrected sternly and then cast his gaze skyward. "And we have each other. The rest we'll eventually figure out. There's never one set path for our lives. You taught me that, Jounouchi."

A long time ago, Jounouchi wondered if their connection began and ended with Gunpla or if it was entirely dependent on his usefulness to Kaiba. Then feelings and sex became part of the equation, making everything messier and harder to disentangle. Kaiba's quiet confession had gone a long way to alleviate Jounouchi's worries. But now he could lay the last remnants of those old fears to rest and bury them six feet under. He tightened his arms around Kaiba's waist, debating with himself on whether or not a kiss was welcomed at this moment.

One look into Kaiba's eyes and Jounouchi's mind was made up for him. He laid one hand on Kaiba's jaw, nudging his head into position. Jounouchi leaned forward on his tiptoes and captured his lips, pouring every drop of his anxiety and hopes into the kiss. After all, nothing was truly over unless they let it be. Kaiba responded by angling his head to better accommodate him and clamping both palms across the small of his back. They stayed wrapped up in each other, drawing comfort and strength after their long week.

Eventually, Jounouchi became embarrassed of his own clinginess and retreated with a cough to cover up his discomfort. He scratched his cheek as he apologized, "Sorry, it's not every day that my career literally goes up in smoke. Maybe Bandai Hobby will hire me. But they're more likely to lay people off now that Gunpla Battle is finished."

Kaiba drew himself to his full height, turning his steely gaze toward Jounouchi. When he spoke, his voice was steady and full of conviction. "There may be another way, Jounouchi. I have a plan. It won't be easy. It might not even be possible—"

Jounouchi pushed back at the gloomy thoughts. They had saved the day! Reiji might be gone, but he went home. Everyone else, including Yuuki, made it through the incident without harm. Kaiba and Yuuki both got to have one last battle with Reiji and Sei, even though the machine gave out before a winner could be determined. After today's events, Jounouchi was ready to face the world and whatever it threw at him.

Kaiba was ready to do the same.

A slow smile spread across Jounouchi's lips, and a renewed sense of strength rushed through his blood. He threaded his fingers through Kaiba's and squeezed. "Say no more, whatever you have planned, I'm in."

_You said there are no limits, and I fell in love_


	24. Epilogue: Open the Future

_Epilogue: Open the Future_

* * *

_Seven months earlier  
__On the eve of the final match of the 7th Gunpla Battle World Championship Tournament_

Mokuba counted imaginary sheep and stripes of light moving across the bedroom ceiling, but slumber did not find him any sooner. It had been almost a month since he arrived in England. He could still remember stepping off the train from Kyoto like it was yesterday. Never in a million years had he expected to find Noa and several bodyguards waiting for him. Before Mokuba knew it, he was packed up and shipped to London that same day.

He kicked up a fuss in the limo, but Noa had not been moved.

The Kaibas' London property, situated on the border of Kensington and Chelsea, was a two-story Georgian house surrounded by a spacious yard and a high brick wall with an iron-wrought gate, which could only be unlocked from the control room inside. It wasn't the largest of the family properties, but Mokuba had no doubt that it cost his father a pretty penny. At first, Mokuba had been allowed free reign of the house, including the library and entertainment room. But he quickly lost that privilege after his various escape attempts, all of which only got him as far as the gate. Since then, Daimon had confined him to his room and its adjoined bathroom. Other than being escorted to the dining room for three meals a day, Mokuba saw nothing save the four walls of his prison.

His internet access was severely limited and tightly monitored. Without news from the outside world— he wasn't even allowed a newspaper, he was cut off and cast adrift from everything. Mokuba was slowly but surely going mad. Given his circumstances, there was no way he wouldn't.

He flopped over onto his side and glared at the dark wall. What about Seto? How was his older brother doing? If Gozaburo suddenly decided to be this strict with Mokuba, he feared for what that meant for Seto. This was supposed to be a good summer. Seto was participating in the Gunpla Battle World Championship Tournament. Mokuba wanted nothing more than to be there to cheer him on.

Not for the first time, a chilling thought sprang to mind. What if Mokuba was stuck here for what remained of the summer, then the school year, and then the rest of his life? Kind of like Rapunzel in her tower. Surely his father wouldn't do that to him... He beat the thought back and swore he'd find a way out. Seto wouldn't have given up, and neither would Mokuba.

Something shattered, and Mokuba bolted out of bed. He turned toward the window and froze when he saw the sheepish expression on the teenage girl floating outside his window— or what remained of his second-story bedroom window.

"Oops," she giggled awkwardly in English and lowered her hand. "Guess I used too much force." She swept the metal pole over the window frame, knocking off the remaining glass fragments still clinging to the edge.

"Who are you?" Mokuba asked in awe. Then he realized he had spoken in Japanese.

"I'm a friend of your brother's, Kaiba Seto," she replied fluently in Japanese and gave a toothy smile. "I'm here to rescue you on his behalf."

He gaped at her for several more moments. Seto didn't have friends though. He refused to even call Yuugi a friend.

Her smile quickly morphed into a frown. "Come on. We don't have that much time. Get your things and move your cute butt!" she ordered, finally shaking him out of his shock. "You don't want to be stuck here, do you?"

Mokuba raced around the room and gathered his most important belongings, including the locket with Seto's photo. He stuffed several random articles of clothing into a book bag, then slipped into his sneakers. No time to change out of his pajamas. He looked back and she was already gone. Part of him almost wondered if he had hallucinated the girl, but his window remained decidedly broken.

Treading carefully around broken glass, he approached the window. A thick towel was laid across the sill, while a ladder leaned up against the wall of the house. Okay, that made a lot more sense than her floating by magic or jet pack. On the ground, she beckoned him with one hand before grasping the ladder again to stabilize it.

Mokuba hurried down the ladder. It was a miracle that Daimon or anyone else hadn't come to investigate the noise. At the very least, the breaking window should have triggered the house alarm. But every window remained dark and silent when he looked back.

"Uh, what about the ladder?" he asked when she started to move away.

"Just leave it. I can't carry that on my own and Julian is back with the car," she hissed.

"Don't tell me your entire escape plan was to scale the walls and break my window with brute force."

She shrugged and shouldered her backpack. "Well, it was locked, so I needed to open it somehow. It may not be elegant, but it worked."

Mokuba almost laughed out loud, but he smothered the sound. This was the most amateur escape plan ever conceived. But she was right, it'd worked. Together, they broke into a run and Mokuba fell into pace two steps behind her.

As they came up on the front gate, which was open for some reason, he asked, "How did you get inside?"

"That was the easy part. I hacked it."

She could barely manage a ladder on her own, but she could hack security on a Kaiba family property. Color Mokuba impressed.

Mokuba's heart swelled when they cleared the massive iron-wrought gates. She never slowed down, leading him down the street to the next corner. His lungs began to burn, and he grimaced. This is what he got for being cooped up inside all summer. Following her example, Mokuba took a running dive into the car waiting curbside. His landing against the seat momentarily knocked the breath from his lungs. He blushed when she crawled over him to shut the door.

"Go go go!" she screamed at the driver.

Tires screeching, they took off and merged into London traffic. She peeled herself off of him and settled back in the other seat. Mokuba peered out the back window, half-expecting to find Daimon chasing them. He wouldn't put it past the man to try and track them on foot. But before long, the high walls around the property and the Georgian house vanished from sight, allowing him to breathe easy again.

The girl extended one hand to him, and Mokuba took it without thinking. She wore bright pink nail polish, and her hand was soft and warm. He reluctantly let go after two shakes.

"Hi, I'm Rebecca! Rebecca Hopkins," she chirped and then pointed at the blond man in the driver's seat. "That's my cousin, Julian Mackenzie."

In the rear view mirror, Julian tossed him a smile and a mock salute. Mokuba grinned and waved back.

"How did you guys find me though?" he asked in awe.

"That's a bit of a long story."

"I have nowhere else to be in the meanwhile."

Rebecca laughed like the peals of church-bells ringing in celebration.

-x-x-x-

_Seven months later after the Battle of A Baoa Qu_

Mokuba launched himself out of the car like a speeding rocket. For whatever reason, late afternoon traffic around the Domino's downtown area had slowed to a crawl. They were only two blocks away from the Kaiba Corporation building, but he couldn't wait any longer— not today of all days. The fact that he had been forced to go to school was pure torture. On most days he was glad to be done with that boarding school in Kyoto and thanked his lucky stars that Seto wanted to keep him close. Today was not that day though.

"Mokuba-sama! Please wait!"

Walking backwards, he waved to the stricken Isono trapped behind the driver's wheel. "Don't worry. Please call the office and tell Nii-sama that I'm on my way. He better not start without me! I mean it."

As Mokuba weaved through the crowd, he reflected on the changes of the past seven months. Not only had the court of public opinion condemned Gozaburo and Noa, the law threw the book at them. Convicted on charges of corporate espionage and conspiracy to commit murder, both his father and brother were sentenced to 20 years in jail. Seto tried to keep him clear of the scandal, but Mokuba refused. He returned to Japan to stand with his brother and their distraught mother as the media had its field day with the Kaiba family. Seto might not have come out the experience smelling entirely of roses, but his brief stint as Meijin Kawaguchi the Fourth helped to endear him to the Gunpla-adoring public. The fact that the third Meijin publicly praised Seto didn't hurt either.

As for the Kaiba Corporation, the recent months brought many turbulent changes. The board made a unanimous decision to oust Gozaburo and Noa after their conviction, which left them scrambling for new leadership. Unlike PPSE's overnight implosion, Mokuba expected to watch the family company spiral into a painful and prolonged death. He didn't care either way. Like Seto, he had never been comfortable with the family business. After everything that happened recently, living like a normal person might be a godsend.

But Seto surprised him and everyone else in the world— except for maybe Jounouchi, he probably knew— when he approached the major shareholders, offering to fix their problem and somehow return the company to good standing. Of course, Seto had conditions— major transformative ones. But by then, PPSE had imploded spectacularly in the absence of its CEO and the loss of its primary revenue earner. The collapse sent shockwaves through the Japanese stock market that had many brokers contemplating suicide. Too scared of going the same way as PPSE, the board reluctantly agreed to try Seto's way for a while. They gave Seto a year to prove his worth.

Their father and Noa should have never underestimated Seto. He was every ounce as capable as they were combined. Slowly but surely, Seto was transitioning the family business from the arms trade to consumer electronics. And if today's test went well, they were about to corner an entire market of the gaming industry.

Mokuba broke into a grin as he came up on the KaibaCorp building, sliding into the building after the automatic doors barely parted in time to avoid a face-plant in the glass. The receptionist at the front desk looked up, then shook her head with a sigh. Mokuba bit down on the urge to stick his tongue out. Instead, he dutifully swiped his ID card into the security terminal and waited to be let through.

"Seto-sama is waiting in his office," the receptionist reported.

Good, that meant that they hadn't started without him! Mokuba raced to the elevator and jabbed the bottom for the top floor, trying to close the doors faster. As it ascended, he danced back and forth across his feet, wringing his hands with excitement. When he finally arrived at the 30th floor, he nearly barreled into someone on his way out of the elevator. He sidestepped at the last moment and avoided colliding with the suited man.

"Careful, Mokuba-kun," Yuugi scolded him gently before he picked up his dropped planner.

Yuugi had been the first of PPSE's former employees that Seto hired after the company's dissolution. Seto also managed to retain virtually all of the ones from the Technical Sciences division and established them as a separate lab under R&amp;D.

"Sorry, Yuugi! Today is the day! Are you coming to the test?"

Yuugi nodded and stepped onto the elevator. "I'll see all of you downstairs soon. There are a few remaining safety measures I need to make sure are in place first."

Mokuba bolted down the hallway, gave a speedy greeting to Seto's secretary, and flung himself through the door of the CEO's office. The conversation between the four men inside immediately came to a halt. Seto looked up with a mixture of fondness and disapproval, while Jounouchi simply snickered at him. The other two men appeared more amused than mad at the intrusion. Feeling abashed for the first time, Mokuba dropped into a bow and formally greeted their visitors. "Good afternoon, Kawaguchi-san, Allan-san."

"It's good to see you again, Mokuba-kun," the third Meijin stood and returned the greeting, but he was always unfailingly formal every time he came to visit.

Allan waved like the clueless foreigner he pretended to be. Mokuba took no offense though.

Mokuba peered around the rest of the office with an expectant expression. The office was completely different from his father's days. Mokuba and Jounouchi had helped Seto pick out most of the new furniture. The one item that Seto kept of their father's was the desk and chair, and they both knew that pissed Gozaburo off to no end. But the most eye-catching piece was the glass case that came into line of sight upon entering the room. Inside was several Gunplas put on display, including the Imperial Legilis that Seto bought from PPSE, and a second-place trophy for the 7th Gunpla Battle World Championships. Mokuba was determined to fill it with even more models and trophies.

Several key people were missing though. "Where's Nils-san and Caroline-san?" he asked.

Seto sighed and folded his hands over his desk. A weary expression settled over his brother's face. "Mokuba, there have been some unexpected setbacks."

His face started to fall, heart plummeting toward the sole of his shoes. Then Jounouchi, perched on the edge of the desk by Seto's elbow, reached over and punched Seto in the arm.

"Shit, don't mess with your little brother like that," Jounouchi rolled his eyes. "He might develop self-esteem issues."

Seto shot a withering look at the other man. "He's a Kaiba. He's fine."

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba whined.

"My apologies, Mokuba."

Whatever tiny amount of ire he felt immediately vanished. Mokuba hadn't really been angry. Truth was he was pleased that Seto could joke with him like that. For most of his life, Seto did nothing but scowl, with nary a tender expression to spare anyone but Mokuba on the rare occasion. Jounouchi had been good for his brother in more ways than one. Mokuba had said it before and he'd say it again, Jounouchi was his favorite acquisition from PPSE's dissolution. No matter how much Jounouchi protested that "he wasn't a thing or their employee," he would eventually understand that he belonged to the Kaiba brothers all the same.

Seto straightened his tie and stood. "Now that his royal highness has decided to grace us with his presence, we can proceed."

This time, Mokuba did stick his tongue out at his brother.

One by one, they filed out of the office. Mokuba lingered at the back of the group, watching as his brother held the door open for Jounouchi. How had the rest of the world not caught onto their relationship yet? Mokuba sussed it out during their first in-person meeting upon his return to Japan. Seto never let anyone invade his personal space to the extent that he allowed Jounouchi, not even Mokuba. Then again, neither Seto nor Jounouchi had technically come clean about their relationship with Mokuba. Jounouchi kept his own place on the other side of town, near Yuugi's old neighborhood, even though he seemed to spend more nights than not at the Kaiba penthouse. Mokuba wondered when Jounouchi would finally give up the pretense and move in like Seto obviously wanted. If Seto continued to be stubborn, Mokuba resolved to confront them both. He was fifteen now; he knew about relationships between men and women, men and men, and women and women. Then he'd put Seto out of his misery and ask Jounouchi to move in with them in his stead.

Maybe then they'd stop acting like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar whenever Mokuba walked into the room.

The five of them piled into the express elevator. His stomach soared and fluttered during the journey to the sub-basement level. The adults around him were discussing tedious subjects like production schedules and advertisement campaigns. Couldn't they show a little more excitement for the upcoming test? It was hard to believe these were four of the world's best Gunpla fighters and builders.

The elevator doors opened straight into the lab, where a dozen employees in lab coats fluttered around the computer consoles like a swarm of bees. In the center of the room was a familiar, hexagonal machine with a polished black surface. Nils and Caroline stood to one side, deep in conversation with Yuugi. Mokuba made a beeline toward the other two teenagers, an oasis in this desert of stuffy adults.

"Nils-san, Caroline-san, so glad you can make it," he chirped.

Caroline tossed her hair back— she was wearing it straight this month— and declared haughtily, "Of course, this is an important collaboration between Yajima Trading and the Kaiba Corporation. My father sends his best regards."

Turning to Nils, he asked, "How's it looking so far?"

It was aboard the International Space Station that Nils finally synthesized the Plavsky particle without a crystal. Yajima Trading had been the major financial muscle backing the Plavsky project. Mokuba knew Seto wanted to give more financial support at the time, but KaibaCorp was still in transition and capital was tight. But Nils streamlined the process with KaibaCorp's technological expertise, and it was with that same expertise that KaibaCorp rebuilt a Gunpla battle simulator. The agreement between the two companies was that Yajima maintained exclusivity over the particles themselves, while KaibaCorp had the sole license for the battle simulation program and machinery.

Seto once privately admitted that he was more comfortable with the particles out of KaibaCorp's reach. It might otherwise prove too tempting to the old guard who resented the corporation's change in direction.

"The particle generator has been running all day, and the emission rate is as steady as we hoped. The prototype will work," Nils boasted.

"That's my brilliant fiancé!" Caroline squealed and threw her arms around his neck.

"Caroline, not in front of everyone!"

"Enough, let's get started," Seto barked as he stepped up to the console.

Caroline disentangled herself with a sigh and took three steps back. Jounouchi and the Meijin were both beginning to show signs of barely suppressed excitement.

Nils shook his head and hefted his tablet up, fingers dancing across the surface. "Beginning Plavsky particle dispersal," he announced.

The surface of the battle machine lit up before a barely visible containment field was erected along the perimeter. With fingers crossed, Mokuba held his breath as the rest of the console came to life, and a soft whirling sound emitted from inside. Electric blue Plavsky particles floated up from the tabletop, rising like a cloud of tiny, pulsating stars.

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Jounouchi grab his brother's arm and shake him with glee. Everyone else politely ignored the gesture.

"Okay," Nils sighed in relief. "Booting up the space battlefield and setting model damage level to C."

"Go ahead, Mokuba," Seto encouraged him with a tiny smile.

He knew the adults and even Nils were humoring him, but he wasn't going to turn down the opportunity to test-drive the new battle system. Afterwards, he would call Rebecca and report how well the code they scripted had worked.

Digging through his book bag, he first brought out the GP Base Seto gave him earlier in the week. He slotted the device into the console, waiting for it to power up with a beep. The first image displayed was the interlocked KC of the new Kaiba Corporation, then followed by Yajima Trading's logo. Next, he retrieved the case holding his SD God Gundam, which Jounouchi had coached him through the process of building. Mokuba set the Gunpla on the launchpad, growing giddier when the cockpit hologram materialized. The SD God Gundam's eyes lit up and lifted its head like it just woke up. Mokuba grasped both control orbs and whooped, "Kaiba Mokuba, SD God Gundam, ready for battle!"

* * *

That's it! Can't believe it over and archived...

I wrote the first draft of this story as my last hurrah before entering grad school, so that I would have something to post as I did my degree. I didn't keep to a regular posting schedule as intended, and ended up leaving the program early due to personal reason. Needless to say, this fic sits at an interesting cross-section of events that took place in my offline life.

The important thing is that both Kaiba and Jounouchi are happy and secure in their new occupations. I felt this was the best ending to bring together all the character threads of both the GBF and YGO canons.

Thanks to M for betaing the non-naughty bits. Thanks to you guys for reading and commenting all along!


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